Pokemon: Motou
by SLIS
Summary: Basically, this is an experiment in what might happen if the anime didn't keep resetting Ash's skill and maturity everytime a new season starts, including the Pokemon available to him. Implied slash.
1. An Old Friend

A/N: Well, here is my attempt for NaNoWriMo, here's to hoping it goes well ^_^;;

The basis of this fic is, what would happen if the people from Pokémon didn't reset Ash's mentality and skill set at the beginning of every journey (like they've been doing for Sinnoh and Unova). This led to a brainstorming discussion with my friend that led to the below fic.

Just a little note, I've upped Ash's age, with the following timing in mind,

Kanto – 1 year

Orange Island – ½ a year

Johto – 1 year

Hoenn – 1 year

Battle Frontier – ½ a year

Sinnoh – 1 year

Unova – 1 year

So he'll be sixteen at the start of the story.

Also, this will be partially AU from Black and White, since I'm not fully updated on it and I don't know what the final lineup will be at the end of the show, so I'll make my own educated guesses.

Disclaimer: Any recognizable character in this fic does not belong to me, otherwise I'll be rich rich rich and Ash would be much smarter.

Chapter 1: An Old Friend

"Pikachu, wait up!"

"Pikachu, pikapi"

Ash Ketchum held back a laugh as he quickened his pace to a fast walk while the Pikachu racing ahead ran to a stop, turning to urge his trainer on.

Catching up to the impatient Pokèmon, Ash automatically shifted his pace as the familiar weight of his oldest companion settled on his shoulder, his steps never missing a beat as he walked the well worn path through the Viridian Forest.

"I wonder what Professor Oak wants with us."

The trainer had received a message from the famous Professor just as he had been about to board the plane at Unova airport, requesting he make his way to the lab in Pallet Town the moment his plane touched down in Kanto Region.

Despite the urgent summons and his anticipation at finally being home after a long year away, the young teen allowed himself the leisure of strolling through the forest, lost in nostalgia as familiarity guided his footsteps along the path.

"Pikachu!"

In a rare turn of events, it was Pikachu who was rushing home, eager to see the rest of his old friends after a year away from them. While the tiny mouse Pokèmon had grown close to the Unova region team, it did not change the fact he was the oldest Pokèmon of the group, in charge of taking care of the others. The electric type looked forward to shedding his role as caretaker and just being another member of the team, much to his trainer's amusement.

Ash was about to laugh and comment on his friend's eagerness and anticipation at returning home when a familiar shape caught his eye. Before he could think, he had called out to Pikachu,

"Look, a Rattata!"

"Piiii, Pika"

Catching themselves at the excitement in each others' voice, they began laughing as their thoughts finally caught up with their actions. After such a long time in the Unova region, they were getting excited over a little Rattata, one of the most common Pokémon in Kanto. They had definitely been away from home for far too long.

As the laughter tapered off to a slow stroll, their continued chuckles caused the two travelers to miss another familiar shadow that passed overhead,

"I wonder why Professor Oak wanted to see us as soon as we got back? I was hoping to detour to Pewter City and meet up with Brock first, and I was hoping to … _ack_!"

"_Pikapi!_"

Ash toppled forward as something swooped down and bowled him over, knocking the air from his lungs as the sky filled his vision, the feel of feathers giving him flashbacks of his first desperate run through this forest.

_Is it a Spearow? Wait, did the Fearow return? I thought Pidgeot… Pidgeot!_

Belated recognition had the trainer raising his head for a better look, to ensure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. The young teen barely had time to glimpse the bright plumage on plain browns before he had to duck a second fly over. As Pidgeot turned round for a third swoop, Ash straightened and waved, squinting against the sun as he called out,

"Pidgeot! It's me, Ash. Hey, don't you remember me?"

Grinning as Pidgeot banked from his latest swoop, Ash felt excitement well within him as he greeted one of his oldest Pokèmon friends. Approaching the diving bird type, and belatedly noticing that his talons had been carefully closed so as not to injure the trainer, Ash was about to throw his arms around Pidgeot when….

"_Ouch!_"

… he received a hard peck on his head, not hard enough to injure, but strong enough to cause him to over balance and land on his ass. Shocked he raised his head only to catch a giant wing to the face. Groaning he didn't bother pealing himself from the forest floor as he muttered a weak,

"I have to stop ending up in this position… Hey, Pidgeot, what gives?"

Finally sitting up, he looked at the giant bird Pokémon, only to come face – to – tail with the irritated flying types tail feathers as the other Pokémon snubbed him, much to his confusion.

Worried, Pikachu ran to the front of the obviously pouting bird and began chattering in the syllables of his name, the confused and slightly hurt tone conveying to Ash the gist of the question.

_Why are you attacking Ash?_

The screeching that followed nearly drowned out the syllables of Pidgeot's name as the agitated Pokémon flapped his wings in anger before settling down into a… at this, Ash rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he realized that, yes, Pidgeot _was _pouting.

"Hey Pikachu, what was that all about? Why is Pidgeot pou… angry?"

At the glare the bird Pokémon shot him, Ash quickly changed the word he was about to say, not wanting to another swat with from the wing or impact with the forest floor. Looking to his first Pokémon, Ash stared at the suddenly sheepish Pikachu rubbing the back of his head with a small hand.

Seeming to come to a decision, the small Pokémon ran up to the backpack his trainer had dropped and started rooting around it, the electric mouse's little legs lifted of the ground as it dug into areas of the bag that Ash had probably not touched for years.

"Hey, whatcha looking for Pikachu?"

Ignoring the curious trainer, the yellow Pokémon continued rummaging through the bag before letting out a cry of success, falling back on his feet while holding an old Pokéball between its forepaws. Grabbing the ball, Ash recognized the familiar markings on it,

"Hey, that's Pidgeot's Pokéball!"

Nodding, the yellow mouse Pokémon began chattering, alternating between pointing at the Pokéball and the giant bird Pokémon now watching the both of them like a Fearow instead of the Pidgeot he was. Frowning, Ash tried to piece together what the little mouse was trying to tell him.

"Wait, you are saying that Pidgeot is angry 'cause we never came back for him?"

"Pi_ka_piii"

Taking the frantic nodding as an agreement, Ash turned towards one of his oldest Pokémon,

"Is this true Pidgeot? Were you angry because you thought we forgot about you?"

"Pidgeeeoooot"

Seeing the great bird nod, Ash got to his feet gingerly and wrapped his arms around the suddenly sad bird.

"Pidgeot, you know me, I'm…. I'm not good with words…. And five years didn't change much."

This got a soft, amused caw from the winged Pokémon as it turned to look at him directly in the eye. Drawing back, Ash lowered hid his discomfort with his cap, keeping his free hand on the bird type. Seeing his trainer struggle, Pikachu left the bag to hug Ash's leg in a show of support.

"Thing is… about one and a half years ago, during the Battle Frontier? When I was battling Pyramid King, Brandon, I… I lost during the first official battle. I then decided to go back to the basics, to my first team… I called Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charizard, but… Butterfree was gone…. And you were needed here…"

As he spoke, Ash wiped a tear from his eye, pulling his hat down further as he went on to explain

"That Pokéball Pikachu brought out? It's yours. I always bring it with me when I go through Viridian Forest, just in case… I know the moment you leave, that Fearow you were protecting the Pidgey's and Pidgeotto's from would return the moment you leave and… and… I knew that there was a good chance I'd never have you on my team again but… that doesn't mean I didn't miss you, old friend."

As the now uncomfortable trainer kept talking, the bird type began to relax, until, at the end, he was leaning into Ash, butting his head against the upset trainer.

"Hey! Does that mean you forgive me?"

"Pidgeoot"

"Thanks Pidgeot. I guess I could have been more active looking out for you, but I was trying to start out from scratch when I went to Hoenn and Sinnoh and Unova was supposed to be a quick stop, so I only took Pikachu… Hey!"

Laughing, the grinning teen ducked Pidgeots wing as it, gently, sailed over his head, the bird Pokémon in a better mood after proof that he had not been forgotten and abandoned by the boy he had been so loyal to as a Pidgeotto.

"Wait, where is the flock you were protecting?"

Ash looked around as he realized that the bird type was alone and there was no sign of any other Pokémon other than the now grinning Pikachu at his feet. The Rattata and Caterpie, the most common Pokémon in the Viridian Forest, having long since fled from the presence of a predator..

As he turned his attention back to the bird Pokémon, he could have sworn he saw a bird grin, before Pidgeot let out a harsh call. Right beside his ear.

The startled teen met the ground again, crying out at the pain on his rear from his unplanned landing,

"I have to find away to stop falling"

"Pikaaaa"

It is unknown if the miserable Pokèmon was agreeing with his trainer or just suffering from the loud noise so close to his aching ears, even as the noise was echoed from above, accompanied by the rustling of countless wings casting shadows on the three grounded beings.

The trainer stared from his dusty seat as the Pidgey's and Pidgeotto's that called the Viridian Forest their home began to descend onto the trees and ground. The flock Pidgeot had protected for the past five years having grown in both strength and size under his care.

"Wow, Pidgeot, they look amazing, wait, are those Pidgeots?"

Indeed, spearing the awed trainer with piercing gazes were two Pidgeots, smaller than his now grown friend, but still exuding an aura of confidence and authority. Even as Ash looked on, the Pigeot let out a harsh call, instantly silencing the chatter of the winged Pokèmon in the surrounding trees.

"Does this mean you don't have to stay and protect the flock anymore?"

"Pidgeot!"

Ash's Pidgeot called an agreement, sending a proud gaze to the two fully evolved Pokèmon that had once been under his care. The ecstatic and his equally happy Pikachu embraced the flying type as the realization that their friend had returned to them solidified in their minds,

"Pidgeot, that's great! That means we can travel together again."

Grinning, Ash picked up the Pokéball Pikachu had dropped during his earlier confession and held it out to the other Pokémon,

"What do you say Pidgeot, want to join us on our next journey?"

"Pidgeeooot"

Nodding, the bird Pokémon nudged Ash in the chest one last time before using his beak to press the button on its Pokéball and entering it for the first time in five years.

On instinct, the Pokèmon trainer fell into a familiar pose, holding out the Pokèball,

"I caught a…. wait!"

Smiling sheepishly at a scowling Pikachu that had stopped mid – jump and fallen over, Ash corrected himself,

"I got back…. Pidgeot!"

"Pikachu!"

With renewed excitement, Ash turned towards the watching Pidgey's, Pidgeotto's and two Pidgoet's and gave a half - bow from the waist, gratitude filling his voice as he thanked them,

"Thank you for letting Pidgeot return to me, I hope you all remain safe from the Fearow and Spearow's in the area."

"Pidgeot"

As one, the two Pidgeot's took wing and flew off, leading the flock until Ash and Pikachu staring after the departing bird Pokémon.

"Well Pikachu, we better head back to Pallet Town, we've got a Professor to meet, a tale to tell and an old friend to bring back."

"Pikachu"

The grin never leaving his face, Ash grabbed his fallen backpack, zipping it and shouldering it before sliding Pidgeot's Pokéball onto his belt in a familiar move.

"Come on Pikachu! Professor Oak is waiting for us, we better hurry."

Excited, Ash dashed of, as energized now as he was five years ago. Watching him go, Pikachu could only shake his head at the irony of _Ash _asking him to hurry up given that their positions had been reversed just a few minutes ago, before the reunion with Pidgeot (although he did appreciate that this was a more usual state of affairs than the earlier attitudes).

"Pikachu, hurry up!"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, the electric mouse Pokémon hurried after his trainer, the both of them now racing to Pallet Town, only this time, accompanied by an old friend.


	2. Motou

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any other characters that you will recognize in this story.

Have given up on NaNoWriMo, but I _will_ continue this story. I really want to see where it will go.

Chapter 2: Motou

"Pallet Town"

Ash felt like his cheeks hurt as the smile stretch across his face. His Unova journey may not be the first year long trip he has taken in the six years since he first left Pallet Town, but it was the first time he had been halfway across the world, immersed in a different culture and surroundings. Near the end, homesickness had become a familiar feeling.

"I guess Brock would say it's all a matter of perception."

"Pikachu?"

Glancing down at the confused Pokèmon, Ash realized that to Pikachu, the comment must have been a surprise as his long time partner probably had no idea of his thought pattern, or what Brock had to do with them.

"Nothing Pikachu, just thinking that this trip seemed longer than all the others."

"Pikachu"

Pikachu chirped in understanding as the both of them began walking down a well known path to a familiar house. Wherever the journey may take a person or Pokèmon, one fact will never change. It will always be, good to be home.

…

"Mom! I'm home!"

"Mime mime mime"

"Hey Mr. Mime, guess mom's out huh?"

"Mime"

Home. Ash allowed the familiar sights and scents to wrap him in an aura of comfort and acceptance.

All that was missing was his mother, and it would be as if he never left. Walking into the kitchen, Ash watched his oldest Pokémon go into throes of ecstasy over the Pikachu's favourite food. Distracted by the humorous sight, he didn't notice the sound of the door opening and closing, but not distracted enough to hear a much missed voice.

"You're home; oh it has been so long"

Smiling as he turned to the sound of the familiar voice, Ash was left blinking as a pink and brown blur darted past him to hug his partner in a very nostalgic move.

"I missed you so much Pikachu"

"Same old mom" Ash grinned at the familiar scene, too used to his mothers' eccentricities to be bothered over the fact she was ignoring her only son in favour of his Pokémon by now. Deciding that Pikachu had enough cuddles for the time being, he decided to remind his mother of the other presence in the house, "Mom, I'm here too, you know?" "Oh hi Ash, how was your trip."

"It was fine, but I've got to go see Professor Oak first, he said it was urgent and I can't keep him waiting," Ash replied as he turned to leave, gesturing to the Pokèmon wriggling out of his mothers arms as he grabbed his backpack, only to be stopped by his mother's next comment, "Oh, so soon? Well, I'll make my chilli pot pies to celebrate your return."

All thoughts of rushing left Ash's mind as he reverted to an excited eleven year old about to eat his mothers best dish for the first time in over a year, the usual response leaving his lips as he turned back to the cooking goddess as he made his plea, "With extra pepperoni?"

The reply of, "and capsicum" excited, the distracted trainer to the point he failed to notice the electric mouse Pokémon tugging at his pants leg, pointing to the door, but he could not fail to notice his mothers' next comment, "And be sure to invite Gary and Professor Oak over."

"Whaaa?!"

Stumbling as he turned, Ash felt excitement and surprise rise up in him as he heard the familiar name, "Gary's here?"

"Oh, yes, he came over on some sort of urgent business for the Professor…"

"_Ack_, Professor Oak! I'm late!" Reminded of the Professor's urgent business for him, Ash dashed towards the door, only scooping up Pikachu out of habit then as a product of conscious memory. Running from the house, he barely remembered to shout over his shoulder, "See ya mom, great seeing you Mr Mime"

"Bye Ash"

"Mime mime _mime_"

Running towards the lab, absently returning the greetings of the familiar folk of Pallet Town as they called out to the familiar trainer, Ash allowed his mind to focus on information his mother had inadvertently dropped while his body raced down the familiar path,

_Gary is here._

He had been so used to meeting the young researcher on his journeys, sometimes helping out with whatever Pokémon troubles that would inevitably happen, that this past year, he had constantly been looking over his shoulder, half expecting his oldest friend and first rival to appear. Now he wondered, if both he and Gary were called on urgent business, if his new journey, he might …

_No, don't get your hopes up._

Still, it was a nice idea.

Screeching to a stop in front of the door, Ash gave a sheepish smile to the now glaring Pikachu in his arms, as the Pokèmon struggling to breathe through the crushing grip of his trainer in Ash's rush to the lab. The young teen barely had time to thank Palkia and Dialga that the electric type no longer had the habit of shocking him when annoyed before the door was opened by none other than Gary Oak.

How many masculinity points would he sacrifice if he launched himself at the much missed presence and bawled his eyes out, crying how much he missed him? Probably all of them and then some, darn it all. Although he probably should stop staring like a loon at the aforementioned teen or he might start collecting idiot points, or at least more idiot points then when he usually collected in Gary's presence.

They probably would have kept staring at each other for Celebi knows how long had they not been interrupted by one Professor Samuel Oak.

"Gary, whose at the… ah, Ash, about time. Now stop standing there like a statue and come on in."

Jolted out of their stare down, Ash and Gary hurried after the Professor, giving the other teen curious looks out of the corner of their eyes. Any banter was forestalled by the Professor , long used to rushing them before they were distracted by each other, he hurried them to the Pokèmon enclosure at the back of the lab.

"Now Ash, before we get down to business, I'm just going to let you know that all your Unova Pokémon were sent by Professor Juniper and arrived safe and sound."

"That's great Professor."

Smile on his face, Ash was about to step out when he remembered his experience earlier that day,

"Oh, and guess who came back? Come out, PIDGEOT"

Throwing the Pokéball, Ash watched as the familiar red light formed into the bird Pokémon that had returned to him just earlier that day. As such, he almost missed the delighted surprise on Professor Oaks face and the mirroring smile on his grandson, but the warm joy in the old man's voice was clear as he greeted the flying type, "Well now, I see that you have finally been reunited with Pidgeot. Welcome back Pidgeot, you were missed in your absence."

Pidgeot nodded back in to the Professor in greeting, even as a comment from the boy behind him rang out, "Huh, so _that's_ what got you so excited, same old Ash, only Pokémon on the brain."

Too elated to be brought down by Gary, especially as familiarity allowing him to catch the light teasing tone under the put upon sneer, Ash merely shot back, "As if you are any different Gary, where's Umbreon?"

Before the other boy could reply, he was cut short by his grandfather, "Umbreon is sleeping off the spoiling my grandson gave him…" "_Grandpa!"_

"And now, you should go say hello to all your Pokémon. Your Unova Pokémon have settled in very well since they arrived, but they all miss you very much."

Ash barely allowed the Professor to finish his sentence as he raced into the Pokèmon's home ground, calling out to his Pokèmon just before he was ambushed, "Hey everybody, I'm ba_ack! Muk!"_

"Muk…"

As Ash struggled out from under his very _enthusiastic_ Muk, a fragrant scent warned him to brace himself as, "Bayleaf, bay!", he was tackled by an equally enthusiastic Bayleaf.

"Hey I missed you too Bayleaf"

"Bayleaf, _bay"_

"_Dewott"_

_Oh, no._

Experience with over amorous Pokémon had Ash wisely backing away as his Bayleaf and Dewott squared off. Even as he snuck away from the mini battle breaking out, another reunion was taking place.

"Bulba bulba _bulbasaur"_

"_Pidgeot"_

Enjoying the sight of the two old friends meeting up once again, Ash walked on, waving a greeting to his Kingler as it went to join his Bulbasaur in greeting Pidgeot. Suddenly, the ground started shaking, recognizing the signs, the trainer spun around until he saw his Tauros herd (coughstampedecough) running nearby, his favourite bull breaking off to run to a stop in front of him. Petting the large Pokémon, Ash laughed as he greeted, "Hey Tauros, still as active as ever I see."

Tauros snorted, head pressing against the petting hand as his tails flicked towards a large, green… wall… "Oh, hi Snorlax"

"Snooorlaax…."

The giant sleeping Pokémon turned to wave at its trainer, putting the effort to smile and look pleased before it rolled over and continued sleeping. Ash didn't have time to remark on this as screeches from over head captured his attention, his remaining bird Pokémon flying in to great him,

"Noctowl, Pidove, Swellow, Staraptor!"

The birds banked in greeting before screeching in annoyance as a dark shape cut through them to bowl Ash over, the young trainer laughing as he fended off the bug Pokémon chewing at his hair,

"Heracross! I missed you too buddy."

As he wrestled the bug type off, Ash could see his Sceptile leaning against a tree in the distance, his Snivy resting in the shade of the same tree, both grass type Pokémon were holding an apple each, obviously getting along over a midday meal. They acknowledged their trainer with a lazy wave and a smile before going back to enjoying each others company. Glad that the two grass types were getting along like a tree in the sun, Ash turned in time to call out in alarm,_ "Gibble!"_

Ash had turned to the sight of his soaked Gibble racing towards the safety represented by the young trainer, chased by a furious Corphish, Totodile, Kingler, Palpitoad and Glalie, ice shards hang off the aforementioned water Pokémon. Stepping forward while the panicked dragon type ducked behind the safety of his trainer, Ash raised both hands in a calming gesture he perfected trying to apologize to angry Pokémon (although the trainer hoped that these Pokèmon would be more inclined to listen to him), "Now now you guys, calm down, I'm sure Gibble didn't mean to do whatever he did."

"Gibble…."

"See he's really sorry. Anyway, don't you guys want to give me a proper greeting?"

"Corphish"

"Totodile"

"Kingler"

"Palpitoad"

"Ugh… you guys! You're getting me all wet."

The four Pokémon ignored the good natured complaint, picking up on the laughter in their trainers voice as they all jumped on the teen. Hearing the fifth and only ice type of the group call out, three of them quickly retreated, bringing Palpitoad with them as Glalie greeted Ash in his usual manner, that is, with an ice beam, _"Ack! Cold!", _

Frowning as the ice broke, Ash stuttered out through chattering teeth,

"N… ni… nice… t… to… see… y… you … too…. G… Glalie…. Brrrr"

"_Glalie"_

"_Torterra!"_

Attention caught by the call of another of his Pokémon (and by now Ash was starting to feel dizzy from all the attention shifts, when did he get this many Pokémon?), the, now slightly overwhelmed but extremely happy, teen looked towards the call, only to blink in surprise at the sight.

His Swadloon was on Torterras' back, picking through leaves Ash assumed was from Torterras' tree. Under the same tree, his Scraggy was napping while in front of Torterra sat Buizel and Inferape, the three Sinnoh Pokémon obviously chatting, oblivious to or just ignoring the presence of the two Unova Pokémon.

As one, all the Pokémon looked at him, calling out their own names in greeting (aside from the still asleep Scraggy), every one of them obviously happy to see him. Running over, Ash grinned at how his various Pokémon were getting along. Without the common goal of causing dire pain and maiming any of the other Pokémon here

Feeling a sheepish smile plaster on his face as he remembered his other water and ice types bonding over their anger at his sole dragon Pokémon, Ash pushed the thought back, allowing a genuine smile to cross his face as he greeted the Pokémon in front of him,

"Buizel, Inferape, Torterra! Its great seeing you guys again. You're looking after Swadloon and Scraggy?"

As the four called out their names again, Ash couldn't help but allow his smile to grow at the welcome sight, his Pokémon, his friends, all getting along. Doing a mental check in his head, he realized that there were still Pokémon missing. A glance towards the remaining part of the fields revealed flares from who he hoped were his fire Pokémon. Running over to the flares, noting that Pikachu had joining him from chatting with Bulbasaur, he was brought up short at the sight of his remaining Pokémon gathered together in a … game?

_At least I think it's a game?_

Donphan was rolling towards Pignite and Quilava, obviously trying to hit them, while the fire Pokémon would jump aside and attempt to touch the moving Pokémon, flaring their flames every time they succeeded. Roggenrola was at the side, calling out every time there was contact between Pokémon, occasionally running into the middle of it all, forcing Donphan to swerve to avoid hitting him. It was crazy and chaotic and exactly what one would expect from Pokèmon raised by Ash. Before Ash could continue his thought, Donphan spotted his trainer and alerted the others to him with an excited, _"Donphan"_

In the next moment, Ash was buried beneath another Poképile, with four different Pokémon trying to nuzzle into or cuddle him the same time,

"Oh, hey guys, missed you too, but do you think you could let me up?"

"Pikachu…"

At the side, Pikachu could only sweatdrop at the sight of his trainer being buried by over affectionate Pokémon, glad that he wasn't the recipient (if only because the little mouse would be crushed by three of the four Pokémon, let alone all).

"Oh come on you guys, _hey, guys!"_

Struggling to get up and out of the cuddlefest, Ash barely noticed Professor Oak and Gary approaching, one chuckling away while the other had an amused (or bemused) smile on his face,

"Your Pokémon missed you Ash"

"Yeah Ash, surprising considering how little time you spend with some of them"

"Glad to amuse you_, now help me get up!"_

Before either Oak could act or make a sarcastic reply, the four cuddling Pokémon were sent scuttling away from Ash by a burst of flame. Before the trainer could process this, an extremely familiar roar that accompanied the flame shocked him up right, to come face to belly with another very old friend he had not expected to see, "Charizard? What are you doing here?"

"Pikachu?"

It was Professor Oak who responded to the stunned trainer and partner staring at the orange Pokémon's' grinning visage,

"Actually, that is in part why I called you here, or should I say, Charizard being here is due to the reason I called you. Now, if the both of you would step into my lab Ash, Gary, we have much to talk about."

…

"Now boys, before I explain what I called you here for, I believe I should give you a few background details in regards to the matter. Gary, pay attention, I called you here because this will be of interest to you and I believe you will be in a better position than I to advice Ash about his upcoming journey."

Professor Oak looked at the two boys sitting on the couch across from him, taking in Ash's confused expression and Gary's interested one. On Ash's lap sat Pikachu, one ear cocked as the yellow mouse focused on the renowned Professor in confused curiosity while Gary's Umbreon merely twitched an ear, the only reaction from the calm moonlight Pokémon as it concentrated on the Professors' words.

Marvelling at the spectrum of personalities that could arise from people and Pokémon and their interactions with each other, the Professor brutally shoved his inner researcher into a corner of his mind so he could focus on the task at hand,

"First you have to understand how the Pokédex system works. As you know, every Professor has access to the Pokédex technology, and a Pokédex is given to every young trainer to help them identify the Pokémon they meet on their journey. At the same time, the Pokédex records the progress of the Pokémon in the trainers care, noting details and sending them to a main information server for our use and to help further our research.

"The point is; any and all new information is used to update Dexter, which is why the both of you will find a new version of the Pokédex is available in an almost yearly basis. What you do not know is that all the information from every Pokédex must be analysed and the general information picked out before Dexter is updated. We need to know which information is specific to the individual Pokémon and which is applies in general to the entire species, as well as the information in between, such as information specific for the region or town for a certain species of Pokémon.

"The Professor who handles this information is Professor Crystal from the Motou region, my old apprentice and the person who populated the original Pokédex for the first 150 Pokémon, by catching them all."

Professor Oak watched as both young men seated before him reacted to the news, Ash intrigued by the idea of someone catching all of the first 150 identified Pokémon, while his grandson….

A knowing smile crossed the Professors' face as Gary jerked in recognition of the name, his eyes wide as the suspicion of what he was here to do began to unfurl in his mind.

"Wow, so she actually captured all 150 Pokémon? How did that happen? And, no offense Professor, but what does it have to do with us?"

Turning to focus his full attention on the squirming trainer, Professor Oak resumed his explanation,

"I'm getting there Ash, but to answer your first two questions, Professor Crystal did indeed capture almost all of the original 150 Pokémon, along with many more of the Pokémon that is recognized by the Pokédex, although she had help with accumulating the information from the original Pokédex holders, but back to how it relates to you.

"Firstly, you must understand that Professor Crystal analyses additional information sent by the various Pokédex's around the world by calling up the Pokémon and the new information relating to the Pokémon. The problem with that is that for the rarer Pokémon, the updates come less frequently as she believes that there would be little to no updates on said Pokémon, for example, she would not check for updates on, say… Ho – oh unless a certain Professor happened to mention that a trainer under his care had seen the very rare, one of a kind Pokémon on his journey."

At this, the Professor levelled a telling gaze at the squirming trainer, waiting for realization to dawn but cutting him off before he could speak,

"Now, I realize that my disbelief when you told me you saw a legendary thought to be nothing but myth and legend would deter you from telling me of your other encounters Ash, but imagine my surprise when upon checking your Pokédex information, Crystal saw fit to inform me that _you've encountered every legendary from every region you have ever entered with Raikou being the sole exception!"_

Catching a breath at his out of character outburst, the Professor's pause after his bombshell allowed the teens time to speak, with Gary jumping up in disbelief as he pointed at the other boy, directing his question to his grandfather,

"Wait, so he saw Ho – oh?"

"Three times according to the Pokédex, the first being registered as an unknown Pokémon so the information was lost, the flaw in the system has since being fixed."

"But... but… the three legendary birds?"

"Witnessed it myself on the Orange Islands, along with Lugia, although there were other records of Ash running into Articuno and Zapdos"

"Jirachi?"

"The Pokédex information was backed by May's Pokédex and confirmed by a magician named Butler."

"_Palkia and Dialga?!"_

"Yes, yes, and so was Arceus and all the other legendaries you can name before you ask, Professor Crystal and I have already gone through the list with a fine toothed comb and the only Pokémon unaccounted for was Raikou. We even got confirmation through some of our…. contacts. You should know who I am talking about Gary."

Seeing his grandson subside at his rebuke, the Professor turned his attention to the very sheepish Pikachu trainer, fixing the young man with a stern glare,

"Now, because of this information, Crystal wants to meet you in person, along with some of your best Pokémon. Since she is currently the leading expert on legendaries and is a good friend of mine, I told her that I would inform you of her interest. I also took the liberty of calling your Charizard back as I was informed that you had used him to battle multiple legendaries before. You will need him if you are to go to Motou…"

"_Wait, _you're sending _Ash_ to _Motou Region? Crazy Region?"_

Oak transferred his glare from Ash to his grandson, the look in his eyes advising the boy to sit back down,

"_Gary Oak_, watch your mouth young man, I did not raise you to speak badly of…."

"I'm not speaking badly of the region grandpa, just the truth, the trainers there are strong, crazily strong, but there is a reason the Pokémon Association almost pulled themselves bald trying to deal with them."

"If this has anything to do with Lance not going there anymore..."

"_That is a whole different thing and I'm not going to touch that matter with a ten foot pole and a Calm Bell!"_

"Uh…. Excuse me…"

Both Oaks jerked in surprise at the timid voice as they turned from their respective positions to look at the third human in the room. The voice Ash used was hesitant, as if reluctant to call attention to himself while the two Oaks were… debating… , "What's so bad about Motou and what does this have to do with Gary?"

Heaving twin sighs, the two researchers settled back into their respective couches, the elder Oak motioning to his grandson to explain,

"Look Ash, Motou isn't bad, per say, _but…"_

At this, Oak the younger glared at his grandfather, daring him to refute the next few words,

"The people in the region are extremely weird, especially the Elite Four and Champion of the region. I should know, I grew up knowing them."

At this, the older Oak took up the narrative,

"Unfortunately, what Gary says is true, aside from this the region has its own battling style which you would be distinctly unfamiliar with. The reason why I called Gary here is because he is familiar with the region, having visited many times in his youth. He is much more up to date with the region at this point as he had been keeping in touch with our contacts there. This is why I called him here, to guide you on your journey to the region and meeting Professor Crystal. Hence, I need him to know your purpose for going and the following conditions as Crystal may be ill-equipped to sufficiently anticipate the explanations needed for someone from your background…"

"What gramps means is that the good Professor is so used to the insanity that goes on in the region, she might not be able or know to explain things in a way you can understand."

"Yes… quite… thank you Gary."

"Just saying it like it is gramps."

As the explanations slowed to a stop, Professor Oak gestured to the third human in the room, encouraging the trainer to ask any questions on his mind, which Ash did hesitantly, "So, instead of calling Professor Oak with my questions, I would be calling Gary? Or will he be travelling with me?"

There was a thread of hope in the trainer's voice as he asked his question, one the older Professor regretted crushing, knowing how close the two had become over the years. Fortunately for him, Gary took it on himself to explain his situation,

"I wish Ash, no really, I wish I could go but I have too many research projects that I need to look after. I'll be doing most of them from grandpa's lab, so you can get in touch with me fairly easily, but I _am _a fairly new researcher in the eyes of the public and I need to be able to travel for my research. So I'll shift my base here and gramps can forward your calls to me if I'm not around when you call, but I really _can't_ join you at this point in time."

Professor Oak couldn't help feeling regretful as the two boys he had helped raise sigh in disappointment, even as Ash changed the subject to something less disappointing, "Well, sorry I didn't tell you about all the legendaries Professor."

"Its no problem Ash, now, first thing is first, you need to know how to enter Motou. I already have your flight ticket ready and…"

The Professor was interrupted by a soft growl. Bemused, both researchers, and the two silent Pokémon, looked at the very embarrassed trainer as he scratched the back of his head, "Uh… maybe you can explain over dinner? Mom's making her famous pot pies!"


	3. The train

Disclaimer: I do not own any character familiar and if I did own Pokemon, I would definitely not be slaving away at my current job.

Chapter 3: Pika, Pikachu

"I choose you, _Pidgeot!_"

"_Pidgeot!"_

As Ash and Pikachu climbed on to Pidgeot, the bird type took flight away from the airport. The Pokémon trainer holding Pikachu safe between his arms as he kept an eye out for the train station, remembering Gary's instructions on how to enter the region from the previous nights dinner at his home,

"_What you have to understand is that the people of Motou are very private. This is not helped by the layout of the land. Now, there are two ways to enter, the first is by sea, but that would take too long for our purposes and Professor Crystal will get impatient. You do _not _want Professor Crystal to get impatient, because she sends her minion, _ow, grandpa!, _I mean her close friend to get you and let me tell you the insanity and trouble that comes with that guy will have us in the Pokémon Associations bad books for as long as it takes for Jirachi to wake up again. Not to mention Grand Line Harbour, but let us not go into that just yet._

"_The other entrance is a tad complicated. You see, Motou region is a peninsular, meaning its surrounded by water on three sides with only one bottle neck land entrance. Furthermore, the other sides are surrounded by mountains, with the other end being the harbour, and no, you can_not_ fly over them._

"_We have your plane ticket, but you would not be flown straight into Motou the way you did Unova. First, pick a flying type because you will be in for a long flight from the airport to the train station. When you arrive, show the conductor this letter and he will guide you to the train that will take you straight to Origin Town. Professor Crystal _probably_ would not be able to meet you there, but you should recognize the suckers, _ow, gramps!, _that she sends. Seriously, they can't be missed."_

Remembering his instructions, Ash searched the ground for a sign of the train station Gary had mentioned. He had planned on trekking through the forest but both Oaks were familiar with his wandering ways and had given him strict instructions on how he would travel,

_I do _not _get lost the moment I set out from a town, and I don't get sidetracked by every person, Pokémon and shiny object that crosses my path._

Unfortunately for Ash, Professor Oak had involved Delia Ketchum into the discussion, which had led to the young trainer promising his mother he would fly straight to the train station on Pidgeot instead of hiking through the woods as was his usual preference.

The trainer was shocked out of his thoughts by a sudden screech as the bird Pokémon beneath him suddenly banked, descending towards a skyscraper in the middle of the forest. The building was the entrance to a track that was enclosed on both sides by the ocean before disappearing from view, even as Ash strained to see where the path led, only receiving the faint shadowed outlines of what he knew were the mountains that surrounded half the region.

The station itself was an enormous structure of steel and glass, with train tracks splitting it in half. From his position, the young teen could see the ocean through the glass, with the play of waves drawing his attention to another design of the station. The architect had commissioned patterns to be added to the glass in the form of glass tainted in various colours, so light, they were almost clear. The tainted glass was designed in the shape of Pokémon , mainly Legendaries, although the entrance teen could make out the starter Pokémon he had encountered in his travels as Pidgeot flew closer. The building was a gigantic landmark, built to attract the attention of trainers looking for it, and it was a long flight of admiring the play of light on the design of the station before the trainer and Pokémon were able to see more than the general structure of the infrastructure. As they approached, Ash could see various people running in the building, most of them congregating towards the tracks as a train began to appear fromthe path,

"_Hurry Pidgeot, the trains hereeee!"_

The shout turned into a scream as the bird Pokémon obeyed his trainer and dived towards the station, nearly crashing on the platform as the train pulled in. The force of the dive threw both trainer and Pokémon on the flying type's into a rolling spin that ended with a dazed Ash looking around groggily, with an equally dazed electric type staring dizzily in front on his lap, "Pika…, pikachu…"

"You can say that again Pikachu."

"_Hey,_ _kid, _you what are you doing here? Only people from Motou can use this train!"

Glancing up at the irate guard frowning down at him, Ash searched his pockets as he stood up, habit allowing him to keep a hold of Pikachu while he searched his pockets, "Uh… I have permission. I'm supposed to see a Professor Crystal?"

The guard looked closely at the nervous trainer, even as he took the proffered letter. As Ash looked on, the suspicion on the man's face melted away to grudging acceptance as he studied the piece of paper in front of him,

"Well, everything looks in order, so welcome aboard kid. Just remember, no Pokémon the size of a human are allowed out on the train unless in an emergence. That means you have to return that bird back to its Pokéball."

The timid, "thanks mister," merely got the young man a suspicious stare from the guard as he handed the letter back to the trainer. Only with the recall of the flying type still on the platform did he turn around on the heels of his shoes, muttering darkly as he left the tense teen. As he disappeared into the boarding crowd, a Spinarak descending from an unseen alcove above to rest on his shoulder, did both trainer and Pokémon let out a relieved sigh as the tension left with him.

"Wonder what _his _problem was."

"Pika_chu"_

The electric mouse Pokémon chirped his name in agreement before squirming out of his trainers arms to run into the train, turning around at the door to call out again, waving insistently at its trainer. As if on cue, the trains whistle blew and the door began to close, startling the trainer into following his partner Pokémon's actions and scurrying on the train along with the last of the stragglers.

Looking around the train, he noted that it was a simple system, with seats lined alongside the walls of the train, facing inwards. The design allowed space for the passengers to mingle and move around freely through the carriage or grab onto the overhead hand holds to steady themselves as they chat or caught up with the people around them. Allowing Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder, Ash shifted his backpack as he began to look for a place to sit.

…

"Finally, home sweet home…"

"…. an actual battle style, not like Kanto…."

"… good to see sis again…"

"… can't wait … challenge _our _Elite…"

"… no Engineers, no Accountants… glad to go home…"

"… see scouts…"

Ash laid back and allowed the conversation to pour over him as he listened intently to what was being said. As far as he could tell, most, if not all, of the people in the train aside from him were originally from Motou region. Settling down, he did something that did not come easily to him but he had learned after exposure to both Brock and Cilan. The young trainer closed his eyes, stamped down his impatience to do something _now,_ and listened.

The words of the other trainers flowed over him, most of them regarding how eager the trainers were to return home, but there were key words that caught his attention and he clamped down on his instinctive reaction of jumping up and interrogating the speakers,

"… Origin Gym… strongest gym leader…"

"Start… Igo…"

"Chance… battle Champion…"

"Red… Lance… kicked out"

"Dragon gym… Wu…"

"Crazy gun totting gym leader…"

"_Fine then! Bring it on!"_

Jerked out of his eavesdropping by the shout, the startled trainer spun, almost out of his seat, to stare at the two teens facing of in the middle of the compartment. The boy was wearing a cap similar to the watching trainers' (in fact, most of the males in the train had similar caps, the trainer noted in a distinct corner of his mind), a dark green travellers vest was thrown over a white shirt and a belt to hold Pokéballs also held up loose, dark green cargo pants. His opponent (for Ash couldn't think of her as anything else, what with the way the two were glaring at each other) had her wavy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her tank top covered by an open jacket and a pair of shorts finished the outfit.

Even as the other occupants of the carriage watched, both trainers called out their Pokémon, a space forming around them as people tried to get out of the way of the oncoming battle. As Ash watched on in trepidation a Darmanitan and Gabite appeared, nearly hunched over as they took the remaining space on the train, setting the locomotive rocking on its tracks.

_Hey, they must have come from Sinnoh; that brings back memories. Wonder how Dawn is doing._

The Pokémon trainer was pulled from his memories of a courageous wild Darmanitan and a stylish co-ordinator whom was also the rival of one of his best friends. The worried murmur that arose was mirrored in the young man, battling with his usual excitement at seeing a Pokémon battle,

"Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

The soft words that escaped him was met with a snort from a nearby trainer,

"Ya think? Bet those two are from Domino, to do something as idiotic as battle on _this _train, especially the Darmanitan trainer, seriously, a fire type?"

Any additional question Ash could have asked was derailed as the two trainers began to battle,

"Gabite, just as we planned, now _Dual Chop!"_

"_Whoa!"_

The Pikachu trainer yelped as he almost lost his balance, the Gabite's jump had been in time with the sway of the train, causing the carriage to lurch dangerously to the side, even as the dragon and ground type leaped at the off balance Darmanitan. Only the Darmanitan's great arms kept it on its feet, as it tried to stumble its way out of the Dual Chop.

"Good job Darmanitan, now fight back by…"

"_Hey you kids, what do you think you're doing?"_

All sound and motion in the carriage stopped, save from the swaying of the train as it travelled along the tracks, rocking its motionless passengers as the guard Ash and Pikachu had seen earlier stalked towards the suddenly sheepish duo, the angry scolding loud enough that the passengers in the other carriages could probably hear,

"Do you think this is the Subway Train? Wait till you get to Domino if you want to Train Battle, now, _recall those Pokémon before you flip this train over!"_

The two sheepish teens had by then moved closer together, all arguments forgotten as they faced the wrath of the adult before them. Their Pokémon had likewise huddled slightly behind their trainers, too confused to act out.

_At least the Pokémon they chose trust them enough that they wouldn't get out of control._

The thought was cynical but Ash had enough experience with trainers and disobedient Pokémon (not necessarily through any fault of the trainer), including his own Charizard to be grateful for that fact. Even as the two trainers returned the big Pokémon's back into their Pokéballs, and followed the guard to the front of the train for a write up of their actions and the attached fine, the atmosphere in the carriage had already returned to normal, with only an underlining amusement to the conversations an indication of the almost battle taking place.

He didn't notice he had fallen asleep watching the ocean until the announcement came that the train had arrived in Motou region.

"We have arrived at Motou region, will all passengers please exit the train. I repeat, we have arrived at Motou region, will all passengers please exit the train."

"_Pikachu!"_

"Don't worry Pikachu, I heard the first time round."

As the yellow mouse Pokémon took its customary position atop his trainers shoulder, Ash followed the crowd out the door and took his first step into Motou region.

…

As Ash was setting off for the Motou region, some old acquaintances of his were not far behind,

"Hear that James? An important mission in Motou region, this may be our lucky break."

"But Jessie, don't you remember? The boss said that any Team Rocket member found in that region would be dealt with. Permanently. And I don't think he meant it in a good way.

"_Meowth_, shut up you idiot, what the boss don't know wouldn't hurt him. All we gotta do is swipe Pikachu and maybe some of the juicy Pokémon dat Professor is prob'ly keepin' in her labs, and we are home free."

No one said they were welcomed acquaintances.

"But…"

"Oh James, stop being such a wimp. Meowth is right, all we have to do is get in and get out without being detected and with Pikachu."

"Ok, fine, even if that works, how are we going to get _into _Motou in the first place? That place has so many security checks that even the elite teams have trouble getting in."

"…"

"Actually James, getting in might be easier than you think."

"Eh, why you lookin' at me like dat? Jessie… no way, whatever ya thinking, I ain't gonna do it. Jessie… no, no, _James help meeee!"_

…..

"Dis is a stupid plan."

Meowth made sure he kept his words to a quiet mumble only the two Team Rocket members under the train could have heard, even as he kept up the appearance of a stray Meowth that was casually grooming his fur, occasionally begging for treats from the passing passengers. Using the skills their special training before the Unova region assignment had given them, they hand onto the mechanisms at the bottom of the train, safely out of sight of the guards and conductors, well the human ones that is.

"Quiet you, the brats already in Motou, meaning we have to get there before he begins one of those journeys of his and we lose him."

The two Team Rocket members were quick to silence their argument as an audible growl reached them. The Houndoom's which patrolled the platforms had arrived, growling at the suddenly hissing Meowth, who was beginning to doubt this cunning plan, or even if he would survive it.

Even as the growling Houndooms were restrained by their handlers, much to the panicking cat Pokémon's relief, another guard with a Spinarak on his shoulder had stalked up holding a strange device that looked like a cross between a scanner and a Pokédex. Before the small feline could even think of getting worried, a blue light had jumped from the handheld device and jumped back, turning the tips green as the light faded away,

"Its green, this is a stray, never was caught at that."

Huh? Worried, the Meowth eyed the device, which apparently mimicked Pokéball technology to the extent that it could read the digital fingerprint Pokéball's left on a Pokémon. This was top technology and these guys had access to it? Before the stunned Pokémon could make use of this bit of information, the growls of the Houndoom's rose in volume. Alarmed that they may be scenting his team hidden under the train, Meowth initiated the second part of the plan.

Hissing insults at the two dog Pokémon, Meowth fled through the open door of the carriage, burying himself under one of the many seats as he continued riling up the two fire types until they could only focus on him,

"Meowth, meowth, _meowth" That the best you can do? I'm an unattached first stage and I'm _claiming your territory.

There were times when Meowth wondered if a hidden skill all Team Rocket members attained was the ability to insult people to the point of inarticulate rage. Then again, the feline had to admit as the barking reached ear shattering degrees, it was probably something which contributed to the short lifespan of some of the teams. When you are hunting rare and powerful Pokémon, you do not want them raging for your 'blood broiled and served as sauce on your still beating heart', as the two Houndooms outside so elegantly put it. The female was particularly descriptive over what she would do with his tail and her pups.

Even as he debated attempting to go to higher ground, he heard the handlers drag the duo of to another part of the platform, while the third guard entered and tried to coax him off the train, only to receive a set of parallel scratches on the back of his hand for his troubles.

"Leave the poor Meowth,, he was probably scared within an inch of his life by those two."

Realizing another of the guards had returned, Meowth crouched down and started hissing again, only a part of it was acting. He'd be damned if Jessie and James got into Motou region without him, they are a team!

"I don't want no trouble on my train. Bad enough we get those youngsters, what if someone is using this Meowth as a distraction."

"Firstly my paranoid friend, that's a stray Meowth, secondly, any kid that sneaks into Motou will either toughen up or stumble out. Usually both…. teams… girls… blue…."

Meowth strained to hear the rest of the conversation over the rising din of the carriage, even as the words were lost over the chatter of the passengers boarding the train. As the train doors began closing he decided to catch a quick cat nap (pun intended) for the short journey into the peninsular. After all, a nice comfortable train ride after the effort he put in was just what the doctor ordered. The fact that Jessie and James, who had done nothing but hide, were in for a three hour trip that consist of hanging on to the bottom of the train while being splashed by salty water was just icing on the cake.

…

Meanwhile, in a certain town, an interesting conversation was taking place between a three individuals.

"Look, we're busy, why can't _you _do it?"

"I already told you, I need to prepare these Pokémon, and don't give me the 'I'm busy' excuse, I know the only thing you're doing is hiding from a certain someone. Who I will inform of your location eventually, but you can buy yourself some time by helping me out with this favour."

"What about the squirt?"

"Don't call him that. And he's helping the Scouts out with a poacher problem, and _you _owe me. Both of you. So don't make me resort to dire measures just to make you do this."

"… What time is the train arriving and what does he look like."

"He wears a cap and has a Pikachu with him."

"Anything more specific?"

"His name is Ash Ketchum and he's from Pallet Town."

…

"Well, we're here Pikachu, but I wonder where are the people we were supposed to meet."

"Pika, pika…"

"Well, at least we can check out the graffiti while we look."

The young teen and electric type were standing in the middle of the station, looking around for whomever they were supposed to meet, or barring that, a phone they could use to call Professor Crystal. As they did so however, it was impossible to ignore the train station they were in.

Unlike the station across the bottleneck, this station was built with bricks and cement, obviously a heritage building unlike its connecting sibling. The old fashioned building was not what caught the eye, but the sheer volume of graffiti that lined the walls. It was not the messy graffiti that he had seen on his trips but actual artwork, all painted as close s possible. As the awed duo traced the paintings, they saw a black and white realistic mural of soldiers at war suddenly lead into a modern art interpretation of the Mona Lisa. Next to it was a giant symbol of the Pokémon Association with various Pokémon using the symbol to relax or climb or play, connected to a life size view of a forest path, complete with hidden Pokémon.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Wah!"

"Pika!"

As absorbed as they were in the graffiti, both human and Pokémon had missed the approaching trainer, who merely grinned in apology, "Sorry for startling you, but you _are_ new here, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah… I'm actually from Pallet Town. Guess I stand out a lot, huh?"

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Ash tried to place why the other trainer looked so familiar, when the voice finally clicked his memory, "Wait, you're the guy from the train!"

Taking in the common cap that was worn by almost every teenaged male he saw, worn backwards in the style Ash liked when he was getting serious, the hair tied into a shoulder length low ponytail, the Pallet Town trainer blushed at his own comment, wondering why he couldn't keep his own mouth shut, "Yeah, and I could tell you were a newbie to the region from your gawking of the train battle and our amazing graffiti. I'm Todd by the way"

"My names Ash, and this is Pikachu."

"Pi_ka"_

The two Pokémon trainers traded smiles and handshakes as they studied one another. Then the Pikachu trainer's head caught up with the topic before the introduction and his automatic reaction, "Wait, the train battle, does that happen often?"

"More than you think."

Before the confused teen could follow up on the enigmatic comment, the other trainer had turned his attention, and commentary, to the graffiti, "So, you like our graffiti, eh? Its actually encouraged by the locals ya know?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, part of the funding from the train station goes to providing spray paint and paint cans for this. It's to encourage people to try and explore their talent and imaginations."

"Wow."

"Yup. The people from Motou region are extremely proud of it. If you look closely at the corners, you'll notice that most of the artworks have a signature. If people like the work, they might track down the artist and commission a piece."

Looking closer now, the teen could see what the other trainer was talking about. At the corner of many of the murals were signatures, but still, "Then why are there so many without signatures?"

"Oh, that's the local Smeargle's. There are a few families of them here, and they've claimed sections of the wall as their own. The vendors and shop owners like to feed them, and the freedom to paint on the walls encourages them to stay."

"Wow, thanks for telling me all this."

"Hey, no prob, its not often we locals get to show off anything from our region to outsiders."

"You don't get many outsiders here?"

As he spoke, Ash remembered his earlier thought of how most of the train passengers excluding him seemed to have originally been from Motou region.

"Yeah, we're a crazy lot, and our Champion and Elite Four and their gang are even crazier. Also, there is a lot of important research going on in various places around the region, and even more sensitive information is stored here. Rumour has it, that there is a library somewhere that has all the information that ever existed in the Pokémon world. So people who know about us rarely want to come, and for those who do, we have to make sure it is for legit reasons. This place is like no other region you've ever been to, from people to battling."

"Wow, thanks."

The other trainer smirked at the dazed look on the outsiders face, knowing his little info dump had barely scratched the surface. If this teen wanted to travel in Motou, he had a lot more to learn, "No prob, its nothing much for a fellow fan of our Champion."

"Wait, what?"

This time it was the Motou resident who looked surprised, "Well… the hat and the Pikachu… and you _are _from Kanto, I just assumed…"

"I've had this hat since I was a kid, and Pikachu was my first Pokémon."

"Pi_ka_"

"Oh, but our Champion wears a similar hat, that's why its so popular, and Pikachu is one of his main Pokémon, rumours say it was the first Pokémon he caught…"

Seeing the confused but interested expression on Ash's face, Todd began to feel there had been a huge misunderstanding, "You _are _from Kanto region, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Aside from the fact our Champions used to be… friends?"

"Wha?"

"Yeah, Lance and Re…"

"Todd!"

Startled at the interruption, the two trainers looked up to see a silver haired woman waving her hands from the edge of the crowd. Her wavy hair fell to mid – back, with only a small tuff tied to the side of her head. She was wearing a deep maroon dress, held up by two frilly straps across the shoulders, "Is she your sister?"

The question got the teen an amused glance, one that he was intimately familiar with in the form of one Gary Oak. Ash had become adapt at reading the hidden words, especially since they boiled down to, _Are you stupid?_

"Do we look related? She's my teacher."

"Oh, sorry."

"Never mind, anyway, I got to go. If you ever make it to Fiore town, look me up at the school, ok?"

The last sentence was said with an undercurrent of amusement, even as Todd took off in the direction of the lady he claimed as his teacher. As the two met and the returning trainer was welcomed with a hug, Ash was reminded of his own welcome committee, or lack of it. Even as his new found friend was driven off, he mused to his long time partner, "Guess they couldn't make it or something. We better go find a phone and call Professor Crystal."

"Pika_chu_"

Grinning at the enthusiastic reply from the electric type, the teen held still long enough for Pikachu to resume his spot on his favourite shoulder before turning to find a phone. Or attempted to as a shout nearly bowled them over mid – turn, as well as startle everyone in the crowd and draw attention to the shouter,

"ASH KETCHUM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN ASH KETCHUM, ANYONE HERE IS ASH KETCHUM?"

The young man, looking slightly younger than Brock, wore a yellow cap backwards in the regions common style. Two tuffs of hair stuck out the gap in the front of the cap. He also wore a loose red jacket above a brown pair of shorts, and across his back he had a… pool cue?

Although, it was not the man that attracted the most attention but the gigantic sign he held up on a stick, with the words 'ASH KETCHUM' in bright, gold, sparkling, paint. Ash could feel the giant drop of sweat making its way down the back of his head, even as the teen called out once more,

"ASH KETCHUM, ARE YOU HERE? C'MON RED, GIVE ME A HAND HERE, ASH KETCHUM, ANYONE SEEN AN ASH KETCHUM?"

Even as the mortified teen began pushing his way to the loud mouth, he noticed the caller's companion cringe as some attention was brought to the embarrassed man. The companion was dressed in a similar cap, only in red, with more tufts of hair poking out the front. What Ash could see of his face, was mostly of it was covered by a hand, although the embarrassment was plain to see on his red neck. He had angled his body away from his companion, and was trying to fade into the crowd, hunching over even further as the shouting addressed him. It was obvious he wanted to be anywhere but near his loud companion.

Luckily, he was put out of his misery as Ash finally reached the as yet unnamed person, and clamped a hand over the next shout, frantically saying, "I'm here, I'm here. Stop shouting already, I'm here!"

A muffled, "Oh, thank Arceus." Met his proclamation from the companion, whom Ash could see, now he was closer, was a young man about Lance's age, a couple years older than his companion. Red, if one went by the yelling, wore a sleeveless red vest over a plain white T – shirt and loose grey cargo pants. He still kept his hand on his face, hiding his looks as the crowd still stared, murmuring and pointing.

Before Ash could get nervous from all the attention, his arm was grabbed by the other teen, even as the action was mirrored on Red. The still nameless teen that had caused all the embarrassment to his current companions, broke into a run for the entrance, dragging his companions out the doors and towards a jeep similar to the one Ash had seen Professor Birch use.

"Get in, get _in._"

"Wait, slow down. Hey! What's the rush?"

"Pi… pika!"

The electric mouse Pokémon agreed with his trainer as he struggled to maintain his position on Ash's shoulder during the rush through the crowd, "The rush is, Red here has probably been recognized already, and we want to get away from his adoring fans."

"Shut up Gold."

The confused Pallet Town trainer stared at Red and the now named Gold. The former had gotten behind the wheel and started driving while the latter had claimed shot gun after shoving Ash into the back of the jeep. The confused visitor was now holding his partner as he settled into a more comfortable position, the train station fading away behind the trio as he voiced his question, "I don't understand, why would he have fans? And who are you two anyway?"

The other two jerked in surprise as Gold turned to stare at him while Red relaxed, a confident smile settling on his face as he straightened in his seat. Using one hand to shove Gold back into his seat from his half risen position, he called back, eyeing Ash from the rear view mirror, "Well, we are friends of Crystal and she sent us to pick you up, but I guess you've figured that out. What you _really _want to know is…"

Using his hand, he pushed down Gold's head, wiping the smug grin on his passengers face, "Hey!"

"This brat here, is Gold, the best Pokémon connoisseur in the _world_…"

"Aww shucks Red, thanks."

"And _I, _am Red, the Champion for the region." There was a slight pause from the occupants of the vehicle as the sentence sunk in, before Ash jerked forward in excitement, "Really? Wow… well, I guess you know, I'm Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu."

The trainer was startled back into his seat as Gold spun around again, this time sitting on his knees as he leaned forward over the top of the passenger seat to study Ash closely, "Uh… what?"

"Hey, I thought so!"

Turning to the driver of the jeep, Gold pointed at the very confused passenger and equally confused Pikachu,

"He's a mini Red!"

"Wha?"

"Gold what are you on about now? Do I have to bring Silver in again?"

"No, no, seriously, he looks just like you, only his cheeks are pointy!"

The irate Champion stopped the car and turned, hoping to stop his companion from talking, if only for a while, and took his first good look at the visitor they picked up from the station. In turn, Ash finally got his first look at Red, and for a moment, the both of them could only stare at each other in surprise, "See, see? He's a mini – Red! He even has a Pikachu."

Grasping for something to say, Ash lashed onto the first thing he could think of while mentally cursing his _dear _friend for not warning him about this (somewhere in Pallet Town, a spiky haired researcher sneezed, startling the Ponyta he was grooming into bolting), "You have a Pikachu?"

At the question, the surprise melted from the Champions face, to be replaced by a confident and prideful grin that would look familiar to any of Ash's own Pokémon, as it is, Pikachu jumped off his trainers lap to look back and forth between the two in amazement. This was replaced by astonishment it came face to face with another Pikachu in a beam of red light.

"Pikachu, meet Pika. Pika, Pikachu, now play nice, the both of you."


	4. Professor Crystal

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokèmon or any characters that may seem familiar.

Chapter 4: Professor Crystal

The two Pikachu's staring at each other were still enough for the surprised trainer to notice the differences between them, he wasn't the only one,

"Hey, Red, is it just me or does Pika look fatter than Ash's Pikachu?"

The Pallet Town trainer quickly flattened himself against the jeeps door as the oblivious speaker leaned over to poke the aforementioned Pika in the cheeks, even as a vaguely familiar expression crossed the other Pokémon's face,

_Wow, I haven't seen _that _look since I first rescued Pikachu from the Spearow flock._

"Pika… _chuuuuu!"_

"Aaahhhhhhh!"

So Misty and Brock weren't lying, a guy really does glow when electrocuted. Ash decided to keep his mouth shut about preferring the view point of a spectator than a participant for this occasion to himself, Pika was still sparking at the cheeks and might just decide that misery loved company, or in Gold's case, it could be idiocy. It seemed that Red agreed with Ash's sentiment as he scolded his friend, "Gold, _some _people actually learn after the first dozen or so times they get shocked. Don't piss off Pika, he has a temper."

Ash tried not to fan away the smoke still rising from the Pokèmon Connoisseur only to have his attention caught at Gold's response, "You're one to talk, Green and Professor Oak told me how much trouble you had when you first caught Pika."

Sitting up at the name, Ash and his Pikachu leaned forwards as the trainer asked, "Wait, you know Professor Oak?" "Pika, Pika?"

Ash ignored Pika's huff, and even Red's laugh at the chance from more information on his long-time mentor, glad when Red decided to appease his curiosity, "Yeah! The Professor is the one that gave me my first Pokémon. Same goes to Green, and Blue's Blastoise was one of the Professor's original three too."

Grinning at a topic he was familiar with, Ash held out Pikachu, balancing the electric type on the back of the front seats, "Really? He's the one who gave me Pikachu as my very first Pokémon. Isn't that right buddy?" "Pi_ka!"_

The comment got a curious frown from the front two Motou region trainers, Gold turning to look at Ash and Red met the excited trainer's eyes in the rear view mirror. It was the Champion who spoke,

"Ash, Professor Oak only gives out three beginners Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. There is no way he would give a Pikachu to a beginner. I know Pikachu's, and I can tell you that while mine might seem to be bad tempered, it is the normal behaviour for most newly caught or wild Pikachu's. I don't know what he was thinking giving you one as a starter, even if it seems to have turned out alright."

Embarrassed, the other trainer averted his gaze to the Pokémon on his lap, supporting him as always, "Yeah well, its kinda embarrassing, see, I was late and there were no more Pokémon left, except Pikachu here. I was really desperate and didn't really listen to him because of that. And, yeah, Pikachu and I didn't get along very well at first, but now we're the best of friends and I don't regret my decision at all!" The two Pokémon experts smirked knowingly, familiar with the feeling that Ash shared with his Pikachu and glad to see it reflected in the trainer behind them. It was Gold that placated the defensive trainer, "Hey chill. We're not judging you, just commenting on how weird it is, since usually the Professor shouldn't have more than three trainers leaving in one year. Anyway, take it from an S class connoisseur and breeder, you and your Pikachu have an amazing bond. Anyone with eyes can see that, I mean, you don't even put him in his Pokéball!"

Relaxing back into the seat as the he let his embarrassment fade, Ash loosened his grip on Pikachu, placing the Pokèmon beside Pika so he could grab onto the front seat as he spoke as he explained, passion in his tone, "Well, its always been like that. From when Pikachu and I didn't get along 'til now, he's never entered his Pokéball, he hates it too much, to the point that even if its dangerous not to go in, he still refuses to even think about it."

It was interesting to see fear bloom in Red's eyes, even through the rear view mirror as a begging tone entered his voice in the next sentence, "Please don't say that around Pika! It might give him ideas!" _"Pika!"_

Too late, Ash noticed that the other Pikachu had a thoughtful look on his face, which faded off into a knowing smirk at his trainers command, even as Red banged the back of his head against the seat of the jeep as since the Pallet Town visitor might just have given his wily Pokémon more ammunition to use to torment his long suffering trainer.

Trying to distract himself after causing trouble, no matter how unintentional, for the Champion, Ash decided to distract himself with the passing scenery, straightening as he realized that they had left the forest behind and was now in a flat plain heading towards what looked like green mountains. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gold also looking around, finally noticing where they were…. And the white lab they were approaching at the base of the mountains, Red's next words cementing his suspicions "'Kay kid, all matters aside, I suggest you grab your stuff, cause we've arrived at Professor Crystal's lab."

…

"Red! Gold!"

Ash turned, his attention caught by the woman in a white lab coat, common to all the Professor's he had met on his journeys. Professor Crystal, because she could be no one else, wore her long lab coat open over a red blouse and straw coloured shorts. Her dark blue hair was tied downwards at the sides of her head in what would have been a double pony tail, but she had somehow made it turn up at an angle, forming two V's at the sides of her head.

Right now, the Professor's blue eyes were narrowed on his two companions, even as the two men were slowly climbing out of the jeep that had just arrived at its destination. The looks on their faces told the young trainer exactly how wary they were of the obviously angry Professor, shrinking back when scowling woman marched up to the two and hissed in their faces,

"What. Took. You. So. Long?"

"Um… well… you see Crys…"

"Hey, chill Professor woman, we got the kid here, safe and sound…"

"Half an hour for a five minute drive Gold. Ten if you consider the drive there and back but _still!_"

"Hey! We had to find him at the train station, ya know?"

At Gold's defensive response, Ash had to add a murmur of his own in, despite knowing the trouble Gold would probably get into. The trauma of them 'finding' him at the train station would not be silenced, "You mean I found you. Not like it was _that _hard…"

Despite how softly he spoke, the words were picked up by the enraged Professor, who rounded on her long time friend,

"What. Did. You. Do?!"

"Chill Crys, its was just some banners…"

"And some shouting?"

At that, the young man gulped, taking in the icy fury of the woman in front of him. Her addition reminded him that their long friendship was a double edge sword that meant she knew him far too well to be fooled by any of his attempts to downplay his actions. Luckily, she took his silence as agreement and turned to the older trainer standing off to the side and praying to Mew that she would forget about him. Hey, it could work, the little pink Pokémon liked him after all!

Unfortunately, Crystal had her reasons for sending Red. Reasons she growled at the nervous teen from between a strained smile, causing the Champion to wince at the sweet, controlled tone,

"Red? If you were going to let him do that anyway, what was the point of you going along to _restrain his over the top tendencies?"_

"Um… to drive them back?

"RED!"

"Give it a break Crystal, he got the both of them back in one piece, didn't he?"

The four spun around at the new voice, Ash feeling his eyes widen as he caught sight of the speaker. An open collared, short sleeved, black T-shirt and loose purple pants on black sneakers barely registered over the man's hair style, the exact same style as one Gary Oaks. The only difference was that the speaker had light brown hair to Gary's dark. These thoughts raced through his head in the instant before piercing green eyes met his, "So, who is the kid?"

Luckily, the young trainer was saved from making a fool of himself in front of the Gary lookalike as Professor Crystal spoke up, "He's Ash Ketchum, one of Professor Oak's Pallet Town trainers. I asked the Professor to send him here due to the information I found in his Pokédex that I wanted to check in person."

"Hmm…"

Unable to move as the other man studied him with a thoughtful frown, Ash could only stutter out a nervous, "Wh… What?"

On his head, Pikachu could only lean forwards and stare at the stranger that looked so much like their long time rival – turned – friend. Unfortunately for the mouse type Pokémon, he leaned forward too far, only to tumble with a shocked, "Pika!"

Into his trainers hands, dropping the cap low over the teen's eyes as Ash automatically caught the falling Pokémon. This succeeded in drawing the other's attention from the trainer to the yellow Pokémon now in his arms, causing a light of realization to dawn, "A Pikachu… Pallet Town… Professor Oak… You must be Gary's friend. The one he held back a year on his journey for."

This caused the attention of the other three Motou locals to focus on the stunned trainer in their midst, "Wait, you know Gary?" Ash backed up from the over-enthusiastic Gold as the breeder asked the question right into his face, excited grin growing at this connection to their visitor, "Yeah, although at that time he was more of a rival then a friend."

"Wow, so mini-Green had his own mini-Red! You must be so proud Green."

"Get off me you idiot!"

The now named Green _snarled_ the words as the gold- capped boy hugged his 'friend', retrieving a Pokéball from the belt pouch he wore with one hand and pushing Gold away with his other. Things seemed tense until Red interrupted the group,

"Alright you two. Enough, the both of you. Green, put that Pokéball back, Gold, let Green go or I'll bring Silver and Blue in on this. Crystal, take Ash to your lab and we'll meet you there and explain things to the kid. Ash, relax, you'll get used to the crazy if you stay long enough, but let's do this somewhere more comfortable."

Adjusting Ash's hat so it stopped blocking half his sight, Red gave the overwhelmed teen a reassuring grin, even as he confidently herded his friends in the direction of the lab at the top of the hill.

Uncertain, the visiting trainer and his Pokémon looked at each other before following the bickering group to the lab in the distance, no one noticing in the commotion that a certain native electric mouse Pokémon was following along on foot, instead of riding in his trainer's Pokéball.

…

"So… you have questions."

Crystal smiled gently at her visitor as she poured the tea, having sent the men to the see to their Pokémon, leaving her alone with her young visitor. Settling back down, she studied the trainer in front of her, noting that despite her scolding of her old friend, Gold had hit the nail on the head calling this boy a mini-Red. It wasn't just the Pikachu, who was sweetly sniffing its own cup of tea as opposed to Red's little hellion, causing a ruckus as his trainer tried to convince him to return to his Pokéball.

Maybe it was the way Ash was always keeping an eye on Pikachu, even when overwhelmed by the insanity that was common to her life. It could be how he would pull confidence from seemingly nowhere on the way to the lab, now distracted from his conversation with his Pikachu. Certainly he is fast becoming one of the few people she's met that did not make her regret releasing the Pokédex to the general public.

Putting aside her long standing debate with her colleagues in the research world, Crystal brought her attention back to Ash, even as he responded to her statement, wondering what his first question will be. Will it be about their local Champion? Her relationship with Professor Oak? Why she called him here? How they know his old friend and rival?

"… What type of Pokémon are in this region?"

The ex- Pokémon catcher could only blink before her mind registered the question and she began laughing uncontrollably. Even as the startled trainer and his Pokémon stared at the possibly crazy Professor, she could not stop , holding her stomach as she felt a stitch developing in her side, she nearly choked on her laughter as she tried to bring it under control. By the time she stopped, she found herself looking up from the floor to the worried gazes of the now standing trainer and his Pikachu, the yellow mouse perched on the edge of the table, looking down at her.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just…"

As she pushed herself back up to the couch, smile splitting her face open, she met the eyes of the still standing teen,

"You remind me so much of Gold and Red when I first met them."

And he did, caring so much about Pokémon, wearing confidence about him like a cloak, Ash had all the qualities of the original Dex holders. It was no wonder he attracted the attention of so many of the legendaries.

"To answer your question, you have to know something about this region, a secret everyone knows."

Controlling her smile as the trainer leaned forwards, the yellow mouse Pokémon mirroring his trainers actions as she dropped her bombshell, "Motou is the birthplace of Mew, the ancestor of all Pokémon."

"Wha…?"

"Pika!?"

Quickly covering her mouth with her hand to stop a giggle from escaping, Crystal rescued the electric type as it fell off the table in shock, handing him back to his equally shocked trainer who had collapsed onto the couch across from her at the news. Taking advantage of his silence, Crystal continued on with her history lesson,

"Mew possesses the DNA of all Pokémon in the world, which means you will find Pokémon from all over the world in this region, no matter Kanto, Johto, or even Unova. You'll even find Pokémon from regions you have never been before if you know where to look."

"Wait, wait!"

Crystal stopped as the trainer across from her began to wave his hands frantically, obviously overwhelmed by her revelation. Ignoring him, she continued onwards, using her words to break his brain, "Well, it's not so much to say this is the birthplace of Mew as to say this is the birthplace of the first Pokémon, this is the first land, or whichever regions mythology you want. I used Mew because it is the legendary of the Kanto region, hence the one you'll be most familiar with.

"Mew, Ho-Oh, Lugia, the three legendary birds, Celebi… most of the mortal legendaries were born here, from the surrounding mountains. That is why, it is dangerous for inexperienced trainers to go there, especially those not familiar with Motou."

"Dan… Dangerous?"

"No one knows why, maybe it is because of the energy that still remains, or just something about the mountains, but the Pokémon that reside in them are strong, stronger than any other wild Pokémon you will encounter. It has come to a point that to survive, they have to grow up stronger than normal, and so the cycle continues.

"Don't worry, the Pokémon you find in the rest of the region are normal, more or less. It is just the mountain areas you need to avoid. It is a good training ground for people with more experience, but for beginners, it is extremely dangerous, especially for people used to the battle style of other regions."

"Uh… what do you mean?"

"Think, you are used to standing on the sidelines and shouting commands at your Pokémon, but in the wild, the Pokémon you battle will not respect that invisible line. So what happens when instead of attacking the Pokémon you call out, the wild Pokémon attacks you? And what if this happens and your entire line up is poisoned, or otherwise knocked out?"

"And that's unusual?"

Crystal paused at the unexpected response to her description of what, to other trainers, would be an unusual situation, "I forgot, Gary told us you were more 'hands on' than most trainers."

"Wait, you know Gary? How do you know Gary?"

Crystal eyed the young man in front of her, surprised by the sudden interest and focus on the current turn their conversation had taken,

"Ash, Professor Oak was the Professor for our region for a while, and my mentor. We all kept in touch with him, even after he left for Kanto. We practically helped raise Gary, especially Green, not that he had much of a choice."

Ash instantly pounced on the choice bit of information, "Really? Why?"

"That child followed Green everywhere. Copied his hairstyle, his clothing, _everything,_ Gary worshipped Green, always calling up and asking for advice. He's simmered down since the Kanto League, but the respect is still there.

"Now…"

At this, it was Crystal's turn to lean forward, an unsettling gleam in her eye,

"To the purpose of your presence here…"

Ash gulped as he hugged a shivering Pikachu to his chest, the both of them unnerved by the almost manic look on the Professor's face,

"About those legendary encounters of yours… Tell me _everything!"_

…

"Wow kid, you look like hell."

The drained teen could only muster a tired glance in the direction the comment came from, not even bothering to glare as he dragged his body out of the lab and into the giant land out back that was a necessity to any Professor that studied Pokèmon.

Amused, Gold watched the boy change his line of vision, lest he trip in his exhaustion. Worry swiftly replaced his amusement when Ash stiffened, new found energy filling the tired body as his eyes bulged in shock. Turning to see what had caught the trainers attention, he could only see the usual sight of Pokèmon gathering in their natural habitats behind him, the large clearing fading into a forest, hemmed in by the natural formation of mountains that marked the region.

Returning his gaze to the still staring trainer and the Pikachu that had joined his trainer in staring at some unknown sight. Never one to hold in his curiosity, Gold asked, "What's so special about the Pokèmon here? I thought you've seen them all on your journey's."

Ash shook himself out of his wonder, not believing what the Pokèmon breeder had said,

"Pokèmon? I was staring at your forest, it's huge!"

Huge hardly did the forest area of the lab justice, from where he was looking, huge trees reared as up the slope of the mountains, creating a mass of greenery from which, thin branches the trainer later realized were actually more trees grew even higher, breaking out from the top to spread another layer of leaves, twining together or growing against each other to stabilize against the wind. Even from a distance, Ash could make out the huge leaves that covered the trees, fern like plants with leaves like green blinds sprouting from the trunks themselves and whole leaves, many times taller than the Pokèmon that scurried through and around them growing from the forest floor.

Despite how far the forest was, Ash could not be struck by how much, bigger, everything seemed.

The Motou native was confused, staring from the forest then back to the visitor before a voice broke the two humans and one Pokèmon from their various states of confusion and amazement,

"Don't look so surprised Gold, Ash's reaction is common to those faced with their first rainforest."

"Rainforest?"

Smiling in amusement as she shed her white coat, Crystal continued her impromptu information session,

"Yes, rainforest. You wouldn't have seen it since Red drove, but the rainforest's are common to regions located on the equator. It is the heat and humidity, it's very good for the plants, and it is the reason why the only cold lands you'll find in this region are at the very tip of the mountains, but you'll learn if you plan to make a journey around Motou."

Scratching the back of his head with a sheepish laugh, the teen replied,

"Yeah, I guess Professor Oak told you about my curious side huh? I'm planning to challenge the gyms in the region, and learn as much as I can in the mean time. I also want to learn about your regions battle style, I've heard bits and pieces about it and I really want to try!"

"That's not all I heard…"

Instantly wary at the tone in the female researcher's voice, the wary teen shelved his excitement (to be taken out and giggled over by his inner ten year old) as he eyed her, unknowingly mirroring the expression of the equally cautious Gold standing behind him, causing the sole female of the group to giggle and raise their caution to even greater levels,

"Whatever it is they said, it is highly exaggerated, I was five years younger and there were… circumstances."

This caused the giggle fit to breakdown into pure laughter, and even Gold was forced to grin at the defensive statement given by the teen.

"Funny, but I was actually talking about your love of watching people get their starter Pokèmon. I have three trainers arriving tomorrow and Odamaki and Aurea told me how much you love witnessing the event. So, why don't you stay the night and let me check the stats of your Pokèmon, and tomorrow you can help me prepare and hand out the new Pokèmon?"

"You bet!"

….

A/N: End! Enough! I can't take this chapter anymore, I've been writing and rewriting for almost a month! Seriously, I was stuck on this part since NaNoWriMo and it just wouldn't come out…. That said, on to the acknowledgements:

Jenakin Ramsobi: I'm glad you like the plot. Yes… grammar…. *headdesk* I know I have a grammar problem and my supposed to be beta and co-plotter has left for London and is busy busy busy, so…. I'll try, and I would really appreciate if you could point out any errors you note. As for giving Ash more intelligent things to say, currently he's still a tad overwhelmed by the new region and Red and Gold, but I hope you like this chapter more in that regards. I'm trying for a more mature but still IC Ash, but it's really hard. I still fall short on the maturity thing. As for Meowth, I'm not telling~ ^_^

luis1113: Yup! And more to come, but that would be a few chapters yet, not that I'll give out any spoilers

mercenaryflyer: Thanks! I think I watched that episode. I know I watched up to the episode that Team Rocket went back to the same old Jessie and James and I stopped in utter frustration….

Darkkami: Thanks for the reviews! Really? *Facepalms* I need to update my research and my plot. Thanks so much for telling me

lightningblade49: Isn't it? *grins* I had to scrutinize the anime and manga for differences so they don't end up twins, Gary and Blue are hard enough to explain

Nauran: I… have no idea what that comment is supposed to mean…

OSR fanatic: Thanks! Fingers crossed that I don't come up against another writers block.


	5. Diamond and Pearl and Platina

A/N: Ok, firstly…. I'm so sorry! *kneels as she begs the forgiveness of the readers* I meant to have this up before Christmas but the characters weren't cooperating… In fact, I'm going to be extending updates to once every two weeks, so…. Heh…. *ducks the crowd throwing rotten tomatoes*

Right, answers to my darling reviewers (since there are a few important points that were asked and I want to clear up before we get on with the story:

Auriansmule: Pairings… I knew I forgot something! Ok all_, __IMPORTANT_, it will be slash. Very understated slash, and Ash will not be together with anyone in this fic, but there will be very very _very_ subtle undercurrents with Gary that can also be taken as friendship if you want to.

Red is paired with Lance. This is a background pairing that can be ignored if you want to, but he will be paired with Lance. There is canon pairings of Ruby and Sapphire, as well as others which I wouldn't reveal just yet as that would be giving out spoilers.

On another note, thanks for pointing out the spelling mistakes. This is why I need a beta (not to mention for brainstorming sessions when I hit a writers block…)

Jenakin Ramsobi: Blue and Green. I had this same discussion with my beta months ago *takes deep breath*. Ok, here's the deal. In the Japanese version, Gary's counterpart is called Midori, which means Green, and Leaf's is Aoi, which means Blue. There are currently three translators out there and in two out of the three translations this is how it is. The third follows the game version, where Red's rival is Blue (Gary) and the female is Green. So, you can have it anyway you like (I actually thought like you did but my beta set me straight), but this is the version I agreed on with my beta, so I'm sticking to it.

Glad you're enjoying the fic so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.

luis1113: Heh, I have _plans _for that. *insert evil laughter*. Will not spoil the plot but it should be revealed by the next chapter anyway

lightningblade49: Lance is on with Red actually, long background story there, but more will be revealed over the course of the story.

Chapter 5: Diamond and Pearl (and Platinum)

"What now Jessie?"

"Shut up James."

"_Meowth! _ Da' both of you betta' lock ya traps cause if you get us caught at this stage, da' boss is gonna blow!"

The human members of Team Rocket subsided at the whispered admonishment from their Pokèmon teammate, even as they continued alternating between squeezing salt water from their hair and rubbing feeling back into their sore fingers. Hiding beneath the train platform, the two of them glanced up at the Meowth sitting on top of the wooden planks, playing the stray lookout.

"Shut up Meowth, you had a nice cozy ride in the train while we were hanging on for dear life while our fingers went numb and we were soaked with sea water."

Despite her words, the red head lowered the tone of her voice to a whisper directed at the cat while she and her partner began to dry themselves out before they attempted to mingle with the crowd above.

"I don't know about this Jessie, it still feels weird."

Turning to direct a glare at her worried partner, the female half of Team Rocket hissed,

"Quit your whinning James, and keep your voice down. We need to blend in and we can't do that with a giant R on our clothes."

The next day, the stray Meowth which had hitched a ride on the train strolled out of the station after spending a night in an out of the way corner. The station guards allowed it to pass, having been instructed by their counterparts in the other station to leave it alone. No one bat an eye at the red haired woman dressed in a black tank top, black pants and boots or the purple haired man in a loose black shirt and white pants following him out.

…...

"Wagh!"

"Pikachu!"

The watching yellow Pokèmon fell over laughing as he witnessed his trainer buried under the three Sinnoh starter Pokèmon they were helping prepare for the new arrivals. Pikachu's amusement was echoed by Crystal and Gold as they prepared breakfast for the three young Pokèmon, while Ash calmed the over exited starters and convinced them he was not a toy they could climb (or chew) on.

"I must say Ash, Professor Oak is right, you do have a way with Pokèmon."

The offhanded comment by the blue haired Professor in regards to how the trainer managed to get the three young Pokèmon into some semblance of order before she brought over the Pokèfood. The first stage Pokèmon let out a cheer as breakfast was finally served, abandoning their previous chew toy in favor of their stomachs.

Free from the task of keeping the various Pokèmon distracted, Ash was finally able to settle down and ask the question that had been bugging him,

"Why do you have starters from Sinnoh? I thought every region have their own starter Pokèmon?"

The trainer watched as Crystal cast Gold a familiar warning glare, silencing the other man even as she answered the question,

"We actually have starters from every region here, it just so happened that the three coming today had shown interest in the Sinnoh Pokèmon.

"After all, _all_ Pokèmon are native to this region, and since the Professor in charge is supposed to provide the native starters, well... Anyway, I have almost every Pokèmon on the Pokèdex, and Gold is the best breeder out there, so it's not hard getting the necessary Pokèmon ready, we just don't have all the starters out for the new trainers to choose from."

"That's my doing."

Gold cut off Crystal's matter of fact explanation with an expression Ash had yet to see on the breeder's face before. The seriousness in the other man's eyes as he addressed the visiting trainer reflected the passion he felt on the subject matter, even as he elaborated in a quiet steady tone at odds with his usual loud flair,

"The Pokèmon here are available to many trainers, but it is just too confusing and just stupid to offer every single starter upfront. I don't know how the other Professor's do it, but I make sure that before their tenth birthday, every trainer will have information on the starters, divided by the regions offered to them. They will then inform Crystal which regions starters they want to choose from. This will force them to _think_ and consider carefully before making their choices, instead of choosing, then abandoning their Pokèmon because they're too 'weak'. It's cruel and irresponsible."

"I guess that makes sense."

The memory of his many fire types, who were probably chosen for power but abandoned when their trainers were too lazy and impatient to train them, Ash could see how this method may aid in staving off people abandoning their starters for similar reasons. Before he could comment on this however, his attention was diverted to the various starter Pokèmon that had finished their breakfast and turned their attention to the silly humans talking around them. It seemed that something was missing…

"Hey, where did the Chimchar go?"

"_What?!"_

Twin yells startled the remaining starters, causing the Bulbasaur and Totodile to huddle behind the young teen. Even as the Professor Crystal and Gold tried to calm the other nine down, and Ash coaxed the grass and water types out from behind him, a triumphant call alerted them to another Pokèmon that had gone missing from the room.

Turning, the three of them saw the yellow mouse dragging the missing monkey Pokèmon back, the small fire type obviously sulking as he was led back to the gathering of humans and Pokèmon,

"Ha! Good job Pikachu!"

Grinning, Gold petted the electric type even as he returned the still pouting starter to his Pokèball,

"In you go Chimchar, if you're not going to behave you can return to your Pokèball."

"They should all return to their Pokèballs anyway, it's almost time for the trainers to arrive."

As she spoke, Professor Crystal grabbed two of the Pokèballs, returning the Turtwig and Piplup back to their own Pokèballs and placing them on the tray that had been prepared for the new trainers. As if the Professor had summoned them, they heard a cultured, feminine voice call out from the front door,

"Professor Crystal? Hi, it is Platina Berlitz with my friends, Pearl and Dia? We are here for our Pokèmon?"

The words sent the room's occupants into a flurry of activity as Crystal hurried to the front of the lab with a parting hissed,

"I'll stall them, you lot get ready."

Summoning back the various Pokèmon, the two males could hear her great the newly arrived trainers as they hurried to lay the Starters on the trays.

Checking the identification markings on the Pokèball in his hands, Ash focused on sorting the Pokèmon by region, even as he heard Gold snarl in frustration,

"I wish we were still using the old school Pokèballs, these identification markers are a pain!"

The breeder waved off the teen's curious look as Pikachu did one last check on the Pokèmon before turning around to chirp a confirmation at the two remaining humans in the room. That was all Gold needed before he hurried around and began to wheel the tray to the front of the lab, taking care not to jostle the Pokèballs as Ash followed behind.

While the two humans maneuvered the tray, Pikachu ran to the front of the lab, where Professor Crystal was entertaining *coughstallingcoughcough* the three trainers, intent on warning the Professor that the Pokèmon were ready. Even as he slid out the door, he could hear an unfamiliar male voice call out,

"Cool! It's a Pikachu, Professor, I want that as my starter!"

"I'm afraid Pearl, that that Pikachu has a trainer, he belongs to my guest, Ash, but if you three will come this way, we can get you your Starter Pokèmon."

On cue, Gold rolled the tray with the Starters into the room, with Ash following behind. As they did so, they were in time to witness two boys, one of them obviously the one who wanted Pikachu begin to speak,

"Speaking of Pokèmon."

The voice belonged to the boy that looked like he could be Barry's twin, if Barry were ten again and decided to darken his hair to a dark blonde. Even the orange and white striped jacket and long green scarf was the same. Ash had a hard time keeping himself from calling out to the boy with the wrong name, but was saved from the embarrassment when the boys companion replied,

"Speaking of Pokèmon…"

The brunette wore a zipped up black jacket with an off-green strip circling across his chest. A red beret with the Pokèmon association logo was peaking up from the side of the hat. The drawl in his voice and droop of his eyes made Ash wonder if this kid had almost overslept the way the teen trainer had when it was time to pick up his first Pokèmon.

"Speaking of Pokèmon, did you know that if a Pikachu held a Light Ball in the daycare centre its offspring will learn Volt Tackle?"

"Really?"

The brunette then began to rummage around the backpack that he was carrying on one shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I've got an old toy ball I want to give him, it's filled with air so it's really light."

_Whack!_

The bemused audience watched the blonde hit his friend over the head, even as he shouted,

"I said Light Ball as in the hold item, not a light ball you idiot! You are light in the head!"

The two of them then straightened as Professor Crystal began laughing, Gold already holding his stomach on the floor at the feet of a grinning Ash, even the girl, half hidden behind the two comedians seemed to be giggling. Seeing as his host and her friend were incapacitated at the moment, he took it on himself to praise the duo,

"Pokèmon Manzai! That was really good, it's been ages since I heard a Manzai."

The duo preened at his words, the Barry lookalike puffing out his chest as his friend allowed a lazy but pleased grin to cross his face.

"My name is Ash, and I think you've already met Pikachu. You must be the new trainers Professor Crystal was telling me about."

"Oh, so that is your Pikachu?"

The teen looked up at the feminine voice, and almost swallowed his tongue as he dimly wondered what it was about this region and lookalikes. Granted the girl standing before him was as similar to Dawn as he was to Red. The dark blue hair was half tied, the back flowing free while the top was pinned in place by two dull yellow hair ornaments to both sides of her head. Aside from that, the facial features was like that of his Sinnoh companion, but slightly shorter, with sharper edges, especially around the eyes, giving the girl a more mature look than her ten years of age. This impression was supported by her demeanor, where most of Ash's younger companions stood like they were about to take action at a moment's notice, the way this girl held herself was reminiscence of Brock and Cilan, patient and steady.

Even the girl's style of dress was conservative, it being a long sleeved reddish pink dress with four decorative pink buttons on the front of the skirt. A white scarf wound around her neck with the two ends hanging out the front.

Quickly recovering himself, the teen swallowed his shock as he held out his hand to shake,

"Yes, and you must be Platina. I heard you arrive while I was in the back room."

"That is correct."

Despite her appearance, Platina's handshake was firm and confident, even as she gestured at her friends with her other hand,

"And this is Pearl,"

A wave at the Barry lookalike,

"And Diamond, we're training to be professional performers for Pokèmon Manzai someday!"

"Call me Dia"

The dark haired boy spoke up as attention was turned to him, lazy grin never leaving his face.

The introductions were interrupted by an amused Crystal, who was enjoying the interaction between the four trainers, and was further amused as,

"I have never seen trainers less eager to get their Starter's as the three of you."

As if her words had were the spark that started the flame, the three trainers surged forward, towards the tray holding their, maybe, future companions and the smirking Professor standing beside it.

"Now Platina, earlier you mentioned that you and your companions are interested in Pokèmon from the Sinnoh region. So let me introduce the starters you get to choose from,"

Removing the first Pokèball from the Sinnoh set, Crystal introduced the starter Pokèmon from Sinnoh,

"Turtwig"

"Chimchar"

"And Piplup"

"Hey! My cousin started with one of those!"

All attention in the room was suddenly focused on Pearl, who was pointing at the Piplup with a look of recognition on his face. As he noticed the attention, he scowled at the others, grousing defensively,

"What? My cousin is from Sinnoh, so he got a Piplup from Professor Rowan. Actually, I think it's evolved into Empoleon by now…"

The blonde trainer-to-be's musings were interrupted by Crystal, as she enquired,

"Does that mean you are choosing Piplup as your starter Pokèmon?"

Instead of an instant agreement or protest as Ash had been expecting, Pearl took his time, looking at the Piplup closely, even as the water type studied his potential trainer in return. The blonde's gaze was not calculating, but seemed to be considering many factors, before he spoke up,

"Based on her stance and attitude, she looks like a serious natured Pokèmon. No offence Piplup, but I think you're too serious for us to form a team, especially as first Pokèmon and first trainer combo. Friends?"

"Piplup"

The blue penguin Pokèmon nodded solemnly, accepting the unexpected analysis from the boy, even as Gold looked pleasantly surprised and Ash tried to wrap his mind around those words coming out of Barry's face.

_Definitely _have_ to stop thinking of him as Barry._

The Pikachu trainer felt his respect for the other boy rise, alongside his shame for judging the younger trainer by someone he had probably never met. Luckily for the Kanto traveler, his rising guilt was halted as Platina stepped forward, bending down so she could better meet the newly rejected Piplup's eyes,

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance Piplup, I think you and I will get along very well"

"Piplup!"

The water type nodded at the girl, walking over to her and shaking her outstretched hand with his tiny flipper.

"Done!"

The moment was broken by a grinning Crystal, who handed Platina Piplup's Pokèball, as she helped the new trainer rise, the small penguin nestled in her arms,

"Congratulations Platina, you are now Piplup's new trainer."

The delight that crossed the girls face as she glanced down at her new Pokèmon made her look like the excited ten year old she was, instead of the mature teen she presented herself to be.

The watching Professor smiled as she watched the new trainer get to know her Pokèmon, before turning to the remaining two,

"Now, as for you two…"

"Whooaa!"

Her attention was caught by Pearls yelp, as the Chimchar leapt onto his face, before scurrying to cling to the side of his head and pulling at his cheeks.

"Ow… C'mon Chimchar, leggo! Hey!"

"That's odd…"

The attention of the rooms occupants, sans Pearl, turned their attention to the thoughtful Professor as she continued,

"That Chimchar rarely _approaches_ people, he's more likely to run off and hide or explore. He has a bit of a naughty streak."

"Naughty streak eh?"

The blonde performer-in-training grinned at the fire monkey he had successfully pried off his head, his amusement growing as the tiny Pokèmon grinned back, not the least guilty over the distress he had caused the boy.

"Hey Dia, I'll take this one, if you don't mind taking…. Dia?"

Looking over his shoulder, only to find empty space where his friend once stood, Pearl cast his glance about, only to find Dia kneeling in front of the final Pokèmon, which was happily munching on his friends supply of emergency biscuits and sandwiches.

"So, you're a Turtwig, eh? Then I'll call you… Wig!"

"Turtwig!"

Grinning at the dark haired boy, Pearl turned his attention back to the Chimchar, which had climbed out of his hands and was now clambering across his head again,

"Hey, cut that out. Let's see… I'll call you… Chimhiko! What do you think Chimhiko?"

"Chimchar!"

The newly named Chimhiko finally stopped his movements, perching on Pearls shoulder as he called out his agreement. The blonde trainer turned to the final person of the trio expectantly, only to receive a blank look in reply,

"Aren't you going to give your Piplup a nickname?"

"Why? I did not realize it was compulsory?"

Seeing that the blonde was about to explode at his companion, Crystal quickly defused the situation with the ease of long practice,

"And it is not. It is entirely up to the trainer whether they wish to give the Pokèmon in their care nicknames, there is no right or wrong way to go about it."

"Then I will not change Piplup's name."

Groaning in defeat but not willing to go against the Professor, Pearl just bit his tongue and accepted Chimhiko's Pokèball from the Professor. Grinning at his new Pokèmon, he decided to let the matter slide, just this once, as he basked in the feeling of getting his new partner,

"Well partner, welcome to the job of helping me guard Platina!"

"Um… guard?"

Confused, Ash interrupted the moment as he wondered if he misunderstood the relationship between the three trainers. He had been enjoying watching the three get to know their new Pokèmon, glad that the pairing worked out in the end, but Pearls offhanded comment threw him for a loop. As the blonde glanced at him, he allowed his confusion to show on his face, even as he eyed the elegant female curiously. Luckily, Pearl answered his question, albeit with a performers flare, waving both his hands to present and frame the sole female of the trio,

"Well, let me explain by first presenting…. Platina Berlitz, daughter of the researcher Sir Berlitz, and heir to the Berlitz fortune. We are old childhood friends of hers and her dad asked Dia and I to watch over her on her Pokèmon journey."

As Pearl's explanation wound down, Platina stepped forward, Piplup still cradled in her arms as her cultured voice continued where her blonde companion left off,

"My family is made up of scholars and researchers and I wish to follow in my father's footsteps. I decided that I had learned all I could from texts and research notes and the best way to learn about Pokèmon is to go on a journey across the region and experiencing all I can. Since Pearl and Dia are being trained by professional bodyguards, my father requested their presence on my journey."

"Trained by professional bodyguards?"

The newly revealed heiress' explanation to Ash's question was interrupted by a sheepish Pearl as he took back the thread of the story,

"Long story of mistaken identity there, but anyway, Motou is very safe thanks to the Region Leaders, so Sir Berlitz decided Dia and I were enough to guard Platina, especially since we have a direct line to Uji and Paka, our trainers."

Ash nodded as he eyed the female trainer in a new light,

"So you're an heiress… wow, no wonder you're so mature. You're more mature than I was at your age!"

Platina's stance did not change, but the smile that crossed her face was soft and kind,

"Thank you for your compliment, and if I may request a favor of you Ash, would you please honor me with a Pokèmon battle? I believe it would be a learning experience for Piplup and I to battle a trainer of your experience and ability."

"And here is where I have to stop the flow of conversation."

Crystal cut in, firmly putting a stop to Ash's acceptance as she shot an apologetic glance to the Pikachu trainer,

"Sorry Platina, but Ash doesn't have any real knowledge on how we battle in Motou, and I would prefer that he could actually watch an actual battle before participating in one. Perhaps you two could postpone the battle until Ash has actually watched one of the videos I have from last years league?"

"Or, they can do better"

All attention turned to Gold at his excited injection into the conversation. The breeder was barely containing his excitement as he bounced on the tips of his toes, grinning in a very familiar way, that had Ash unconsciously backing away and Pikachu hiding behind his trainer's legs, carefully peeking out the side.

"Red and Green are currently preparing to battle each other. I convinced them to wait until Ash could watch since he's never seen a Motou battle before, and they've been getting ready all morning."

Winking at the four trainers, Gold pointed to the door of the lab,

"So, you four are going to get the rare chance of witnessing the Champion and Origin Town Gym Leader go at it in a no holds barred, high level battle. Shall we get going?"


	6. A Motou Battle

Chapter 6: A Motou Battle

lightningblade49: Your question is answered later in this chapter.

A/N: I'm so late with this chapter, I know and I'm sorry. Work is starting to peak now and it's hard to find time to write. Will try to get the other chapters up on time tho.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any other characters that you will recognize in this story.

"So… where are we?"

Ash's felt his question was valid, the Pokèmon trainer was forcing himself not to cringe as he peeked down, automatically correcting his stance as the… _thing_… they were in swayed dangerously on the seemingly thin piece of cable it hung on.

He was glad that the three new trainers and their Pokèmon looked as uncomfortable as he felt. There was something about standing on a glass floor a few thousand feet in the air with nothing but a downward sloping forest below that puts matters into perspective.

No matter what Crystal said about the 'bubble car' being tested for safety, he still had images of himself or the entire carriage crashing down into the forest before sliding further down the mountain to his death. The trembling Pokèmon on his shoulder told him that Pikachu had shared his fears.

"I told you Ash, this is the safest place on the whole battlefield, especially when Red and Green really go at it."

"This wouldn't happen to be the mountain area with the really strong Pokèmon you told me about, would it?"

"Red and Green are stronger. Now hush, they're ready."

As one, the trainers within the bubble car focused their pre-prepared binoculars on the duo facing off against each other from either side of the stream that cut across their battlefield. The speakers in the car clearly broadcasted Red's command from the mike around his neck as the Champion made the opening move, leaping back as he threw the first Pokèball of the match,

"Aero, let's go!"

"Wow…"

The Pikachu trainer couldn't help voicing his amazement as he watched Motou's Champion grab on to the talon of the Aerodactyl that had erupted from the Champions Pokèball, instantly rising into the air. In a daring but practiced move, the Champion released his hold on the talon as the flying type did a backwards roll, with Red landing on his neck, even as he shouted his first attack, the duo heading straight for Green,

"Wing Blade!"

The Gym Leader merely smirked as winged death flew towards him, before disappearing into the forest behind his green jacket melting into the foliage as the narrow gap between the trees forced Red and his Aerodactyl to pull up and circle from the air.

"He attacked Green!"

"Actually, he attacked Green's Pokèballs."

Ash felt Pikachu mirror his stare at the indifferent Professor, who didn't seem worried that one of her friends had launched a potentially lethal attack on the other as she focused her eye glass on the frustrated Pokèmon and trainer circling above the forest, or appeared to focus as she directed her next comment at the still staring teen,

"Stop worrying about opening moves and watch! Green's about to make _his_ move."

The quick turn of his head was just in time to catch the swirl of petals exploding from the forest and forcing the flying duo overhead to evade, even as Green's voice echoed across the speakers for the first time,

"Petal Dance"

In his shock over Red's actions, Ash had missed the tell tale sound of Green summoning his first Pokèmon. However, no one could miss the pink storm that rose from within the forest, signaling his counter attack.

"Aero, use Gust!"

The wind called up by the flying type scattered the petals, even as it blew them back towards the forest. Just as quickly, Green's reply exploded through from a different angle, chasing the prehistoric Pokèmon as he descended back towards the stream.

"Razor Leaf!"

As the leaves cut apart the equally sharp petals, and were cut in turn, Ash saw the reason Red had bid his Pokèmon to escape the area as the sky above the forest became filled with knife sharp fragments of the two deadly attacks. Had the prehistoric Pokèmon stayed in the area, it would have been the equivalent of being hit by a thousand paper cuts for every wing beat.

Not that Red noticed any of this as he dived into the stream while sending Aero back into his Pokèball.

"Venusaur! Vine Whip before he summons…!"

Green's command was cut off as the two giant vines were frozen mid-movement, surrounded by the pink glow of what Ash recognized as a psychic attack.

"Good work Vee, now pull Venusaur out of the forest and into the open!"

As one, the every binocular from the bubble car focused on the two figures that had appeared on the other side of the stream. The dripping Champion was grinning as the Espeon at his feet frowned in concentration, the slow inching of the vines out of the forest and the appearance of a great foot, slowly dragged by an invisible source, showed the fruits of her efforts.

A fuming Green sitting atop the Venusaur showed how Red had outsmarted the Gym Leader, even as the grass type disappeared in a flash of red light and the still fuming trainer landed in a crouch, Pokèball appearing in his hand, only to be pushed out with another psychic blast. Unfortunately for Red, what landed as an empty Pokèball as he and Espeon were thrown back by a gush of water from an annoyed Golduck.

Up in the bubble car, Gold tutted as he studied the fight,

"Stupid. You can't give Green time to plan, that's _asking _for the tables to be turned."

His musing was cut off with a swipe from Crystal as she shushed the man,

"Red is Champion for a reason, now stop distracting us."

An explosion from below caught everyone's attention as they saw Green's Golduck get caught in a Dragon Rage with the sudden appearance of a Gyrados.

"How…?"

"You can give orders to your Pokèmon while they are in their Pokèballs. Red must have instructed Gyrados, before recalling Vee and releasing Gyrados in the same move."

Gold's eyes did not leave the scene, even as he explained the circumstances to Ash, not that the Pallet Town trainer blamed him, the sudden appearance of the water type and the quick attack had turned the tables again. Especially with Red's follow up move,

"Gyrados, now use Twister!"

As the gigantic water sprout headed towards the stumbling duck Pokèmon, ripping up trees from their roots in its wake. Ash noted that it served the dual purpose of blocking Green from Golduck, effectively stopping the other trainer from returning his Pokèmon to its Pokèball, not that the Origin Gym Leader was out of options,

"Golduck! Travel the water sprout using Aqua Jet!"

Instantly, the water type obeyed its trainers command, jumping into the sprout and activating the move, allowing it to gain momentum and power from his opponents attack. Unfortunately, Red had an ace up his sleeve,

"Now Gyrados, Thunderbolt!"

The gasps from the other two oldest occupents of the car informed the others that this was a new move for their friend's water type. Which meant that Green was unprepared for the results as his Pokèmon was fried within the twister, making Golduck the first Pokèmon to be knocked out during the battle.

"Golduck, return! Come on out, Porygon-Z!"

"Gyrados, Rain Dance!"

The tiny pink and blue Pokèmon that looked like a demented version of Porygon immediately shot a powerful Zap Cannon upon appearing from its Pokèball, not giving the water type a chance to dodge as it finished up its initial attack. As if a sign from the heavens, the rain showered down just as the electrical attack hit Gyrados, raising the damage of the already devastating attack and knocking out the bigger Pokèmon. Green had recovered from his shock and instructed the digital Pokèmon to prepare the blast while recovering his Golduck.

The belated rain fell as Red returned Gyrados back to his Pokèball, glaring at his opponent as he contemplated which Pokèmon to use. As if to mock him, Green held out his hand, slowly closing his fingers one by one. Before the Gym Leader could make a fist, Red held up a Pokèball, hiding his mouth as he continued glaring at Green before throwing it into the foliage behind him, the dense forest hiding the Pokèmon that appeared in a burst of red light. The Champion then smirked at his rival as he jumped into hiding alongside his unknown summon.

"Porygon-Z, return! Come out Venusaur!"

Green wasted no time in changing Pokèmon, not taking his eyes off the tree line his opponent had disappeared into. Tense, he barked out his next command,

"Venusaur, use Cut, then Vine Whip!"

The confusion the spectators of the match felt as the command came over the speakers were cleared as the grass type began to use its great vines to decimate the trees and rip up the bushes across the river, removing the cover that was hiding the in disappearing in a spray of roots and leaves.

As the mass destruction of the innocent forest cleared, no flash of human movement was seen in the subsequent wreckage. The onlookers could practically see the afterimages of Green's head as it whipped back and forth, trying to locate the missing Champion, worry starting to seep into his stance as his body unconsciously adjusted itself so his back was to Venusaur, who was picking up on his trainers nerves and shifting its stance as its eyes darted around faster than its could follow.

A sudden rumbling had all eyes turned upstream, only to see a wave of earth head downwards, straight for the Gym Leader and his Pokèmon, even as the earth under their feet began to shift alongside the pressure.

"Shit, landslide!"

No one knew if it was Crystal, Gold or Green himself who said the words, but the following events had Ash and the three new trainers glued to the windows, their binoculars straining to catch every moment.

"Venusaur, Leach Seed!"

As the seed flew and ebbed itself in the wave, the Green kept up his orders,

"Again! And again! Keep it up until you don't have any seeds left!"

The flurry of seed flew, releasing their roots as they buried themselves into the landslide, stopping the moving earth, only for the ground to collapse under the exhausted Pokèmon. The crash that arose from the hole could be heard even without the speakers in the bubble car, ensuring the grass type was definitely out for count.

The reason for the sudden destruction came over the speakers, audible to Green if the realization on his face was any indication.

"Dugtrio!"

"Nice work Dig!"

There had only been silence from Red's side before this, Ash realized belatedly, because the Champion had hidden underground, safe from the rain as Dugtrio used Dig to loosen the earth that had already been destabilized by Gyrados' Twister and Rain Dance. With the downward slope of the battlefield, it had not taken much for him to cause a landslide that would either take out Venusaur

This realization only took a second as Green jumped into the hole that had taken out Venusaur, calling out his next Pokèmon and attack as he went in,

"Rhydon, use Earthquake!"

"Rhydon!"

"Dugtrio!"

"Wha!"

While the actual battle could not be witnessed, the effects of Rhydon's Earthquake could be seen by the above spectators as the ground shuddered before seeming to deflate, filling up the tunnels Dugtrio had dug and probably dealing great damage towards the ground type due to the damp nature of the earth as the rain continued to thunder overhead.

"Mud Bomb!"

"Dodge it and use Drill Run!"

The rain begins to let up as the fight continues, with the spectators eyeing the ground for visual proof of what they were hearing through the speakers. It wasn't that they didn't want to come above ground, Ash understood at once, it was that they _can't_. Like how Brock's Onyx was weakened by the sprinklers during Ash's first gym battle, so both rock and ground types would be weakened if they were the first to come out into the rain, leaving the other free to attack from below.

The muddy underground battle finally came to a head as the rain pattered to an end,

"Rhydon, use Take Down!"

"Dig, use Magnitude, quick!"

"Rhydon!"

"Dugtrio!"

The crash across the speakers had the airborne group covering their ears, eyes closed as tears of pain leaked through from the sound. As the sound of the earth collapsing faded to the fainter sounds of scratching and digging, the occupants of the bubble car slowly pulled themselves up to look out the window, in time to see the two battlers emerge from the earth dirty and battered but still utterly focused on the battle.

That is when the rest of the mountain decided enough was enough and collapsed.

"Idiotic, brainless, utterly stupid harebrained ideas."

As the Crystal continued her almost poetic string of insults aimed in the direction of her friends, Ash focused his attention on the discussion at hand,

"That Petal Dance and Razor Leaf combo was deadly! It totally took away Aerodactyl's advantage of flight and maximized Venusaur's cover."

Pearl's gushing had the Kanto trainer nodding in agreement, along with Gold's follow up analysis,

"Using Aqua Jet on Gyrados' Twister was a stroke of genius, if it weren't for Thunderbolt, the advantage would have been Green's"

"I thought Green was amazing when he turned the tables using Leech Seed to…"

Ash's comment faded away as five nervous pair of eyes turned towards the fuming Professor as she raised her voice a level higher, no longer allowing the spectators to distract themselves from the furious woman as she berated the sulking pair on her medical beds. Unfortunately for the two, the Professor had every right to anger in wake of the landslide they had caused. It had only been due to the quick actions of both Crystal and Gold that their injuries were minimal and the blue haired woman was making sure the two knew that fact. It was only knowledge (and fear) of her temper that kept the two quiet at her onslaught, despite the mulish look in their eyes that spoke volumes over the interruption of their battle.

"Don't you give me that look!"

Unfortunately, Crystal seemed well aware of both their personalities and attitudes towards personal danger, and their stubbornness only added fuel to the fire. As her temper reached new heights, the other five humans and four Pokèmon in the room desperately sought a safe conversation topic that would not fuel the fury of the Professor.

Ash was almost grateful as Gold, who had been desperately looking around for a distraction, hit on an idea when his eyes fell on Piplup and Pikachu, "Hey Ash, now you know what a Motou battle is like, why don't you try challenging one of the three newbies here?"

Maybe not that grateful. With the memory of the dangerous and potentially lethal battle still in mind, the young trainer turned wide eyes on the other man. Mentally writing out his will as Pikachu huddled close to his side, he glanced at the two men now listening in, noting that even Crystal was distracted, just as Gold had planned.

Correctly reading his hesitance, Gold slapped the teen on his back as he shouted, fear of Crystal's anger forgotten,

"Don't worry! Those two always have high level battles but most of us, including the Elite Four, wouldn't destroy a mountain when we battle."

"He is right, you know."

All eyes turned to Professor Crystal at her words. The young woman smiled reassuringly at the group of teens, anger apparently forgotten,

"Just this once, you should listen to Gold."

"Hey!"

"These two idiots," at this, she shot a glare at the two on her medical beds, "were participating in a very high level battle. _Most_ of us don't use _landslides_ on a _mountain battlefield. _You and whoever you choose as your opponent will not be creating natural disasters, rest assured of _that!_"

"I would be delighted if you would be my first opponent Ash."

The Pallet Town trainer stopped his slow shuffle away from the Professor, who was regaining her former anger, at Platina's offer, Pikachu likewise peeking out around his legs to look at the heiress as she continued,

"You are obviously an experienced trainer, and I believe there will be great benefit for Piplup and I if we were to battle you and Pikachu."

"I wouldn't advise that." Green cut the heiress off, "Ash's Pikachu is obviously a high level Pokèmon and your Piplup is a water type. Even discounting the type advantage, it would take just one hit for Piplup to be knocked out."

Ash couldn't help but offer his view as he watched the heiress wilt under the gym leader's critism, sympathy and empathy for a fellow trainer prompting his words,

"I do have other Pokèmon you know. I mean, my other five are my stronger Pokèmon, and I wouldn't let you battle Charizard, Bulbasaur, Snorlax, Gibble or Pidgeot, but I have some newer, less experience Pokèmon back at Professor Oaks…"

"That would not be necessary."

Platina cut through Ash's offer with a confident smile, hands held demurely in front as her eyes blazed a challenge at the other trainer,

"I understand that I am at a disadvantage in both experience and type, but I would still like to battle Pikachu."

"Are you sure about this? Last chance to back out."

"I assure you Ash, I have will not change my mind. I believe that despite our inexperience, Piplup and I can put up a good showing."

Pikachu focused on the trade off between trainers as he looked at the starter across the field, ignoring the spectators as he wondered if the match would actually take place against the inexperienced pair,

"Alright Pikachu, she's made up her mind, so let's do this"

"_Pika?!"_

The yellow mouse looked over his shoulder at his trainer in question as Ash spun his hat to the back, the uncertainty on his face melting to a familiar look of determination as he eyed the girl across from him the way he had countless gym leaders from across the regions.

"She wants a good battle Pikachu, we wouldn't want anyone to hold back on us, we will not hold back on her."

"Pikachu."

With a nod of understanding at his trainer, the electric type fell on all fours, his full concentration now on the two in front of him. Across the battle ground, Platina smiled in gratitude, even as she cheered her new partner on,

"Piplup! I know we haven't battled before, but let us give them a good showing."

"Piplup!"

"Alright you two, this will be a one on one battle between Ash and Platina. The first Pokèmon to be knocked out, looses!"

Pikachu tuned out the Champion as the other man brought down his arm, signaling the match had begun,

"Piplup, before they move, use Growl!"

"Pikachu."

Even as the water type began the attack, her opponent leapt into action at his trainers command, long experience letting him know exactly what Ash wanted. Dimly noting Ash shifting for a better view, the electric type shook off the bit of the attack that had clipped him, as he flanked Piplup from the side, noting his trainers eyes flick down and back up to meet his own. Allowing a grin of agreement to cross his face Pikachu waited for Ash to give the signal, "Thunderbolt, now!" Before firing off a Thunderbolt, aimed at the water type's feet.

"Piplup dodge it!"

As the blue penguin leapt out of the way, its motion brought it head first into the Iron Tail that Pikachu brought down from above, effectively knocking out the water type and ending the battle.

"Piplup is unable to battle. The winner is Ash and Pikachu!"


	7. Battle of Champions

A/N: Before I begin this story, there are a few things I would like to address.

The first and (to me) most important is… I owe all readers my deepest apologies. I just reread chapter one and the grammatical errors… My lack of a beta was no excuse. If the chapter is bad enough that I, as the author, could not tolerate it, then I should have edited it until I was happy with it.

You may have noticed that the chapter has since been replaced, and all the other chapters as well. That said, thank you all for continuing to read despite my horrible writing (and here I'd like to drop a word of thanks to Footloose, author of Loaded March series on AO3 for her LJ page on writing styles which inspired me to do this editing). On that note thank you and I'm sorry again for the sub-par chapters I've been churning out.

The second point, someone sent me a PM requesting I add his/her character in my story. I thought it best to explain my stance on this to everyone. This story was plotted between me and my best friend over the course of six months. We have a separate word document that is basically a thesis and reference guide on each and every character and how they would fit into the world we've created, because of this, we will not be adding characters or changing the plot because everything is actually interlinked, and as we head to the first gym, you'll see how complicated the interweaving actually is. So, thank you but I must firmly say no to any such requests.

Now, the third point is in response to a review:

lightningblade49: You asked why Sceptile wasn't in the line up when Professor Oak asked Ash to bring his strongest Pokèmon. The official answer is that Ash only has six spaces on his team. Pikachu is obvious, so is Charizard. Pidgeot is there because firstly, Ash didn't want to separate from him so soon after their reunion, and secondly, he was strong enough to lead his own flock, and had helped face Mewtwo in the first movie, not to mention Ash needed a way to fly from the airport to the train station and Charizard is not the best of ways for travelling long distances. Bulbasaur is there because to me, he is almost on par with Pikachu in terms of strength. If he wanted to, he would be a Venusaur by now, and if I could have, I would have brought Squirtle in as well. Snorlax is another one of Ash's strongest Pokèmon, for all he was lazy; I think we can agree on this. The final was a tossup between Sceptile, Infernape, and Gibble, and with a fire type and a grass type already on the team, Ash chose Gibble to balance things out. Also, don't forget that Gibble had faced a Darkrai in the Sinnoh League semi-finals, and made a good showing of it all.

Ok, fine, background in my head is, Sceptile and Infernape _like_ Professor Oaks lab and didn't want to leave, whereas Gibble might have been turned into an ice statue if he stayed after angering every water Pokèmon in the lab and no matter how I wrote it, _Sceptile and Infernape refused to cooperate while Gibble kept sneaking in ! #$%&._ I have long adhered to the fact that if the characters refused to cooperate, then I will not force them. In the end, it is the characters who write the story, not the author. Rest assured, Crystal will get her hands on those two, eventually, but for now, this is how it stands. *headdesk* this sounded so much better in my head.

Fourth and final, yes this chapter is very very late. I _was_ swamped with work and was working, even on public holidays and weekends. I was also busy rewriting the earlier chapters and had a horrible case of writers block when work slowed down (work is an evil evil plot bunny killer T_T). I must have rewritten this chapter a dozen times before I posted.

Chapter 7: Of Champions and Manipulative Professors

"I lost…" Platina barely felt the dirt digging into her knees as she knelt in front of her downed Pokèmon, the shock and pain of her first loss numbing her senses, the approaching footsteps nothing more than background noise as she cradled Piplup in her arms, her vision blurring as she stared at the Pokèmon that had tried so hard for her. That she had failed…

"So quickly…" She whispered the words into the silence as she lowered her head, resolutely keeping the tears from falling. She reminded herself that she was the Berlitz heiress, she could not act as the eleven year old she truly was (but she _was _eleven years old and it _hurts_, losing _hurts_ and why must she be strong?).

She tried to rein in her pain, throwing _pride _and _Berlitz_ and sheer stubbornness at the damp in her eyes, not noticing the approaching person until a pair of sneakers entered her line of sight. Surprised, she looked up at Ash, the other trainer was calm, no smile from his victory appearing on his face, not, she reminded herself, that he should take pride in winning against a beginner like her, and she should have expected the loss, so why was she taking it so hard, and…

Platina had nearly about the other trainer, when she felt her forearm gripped and her body guided to a stand by the Kantou trainer. The smile he gave her felt like a blow as she braced herself for the pitying words that were sure to follow, the patronizing phrases like…

"Yes. Next time, it will be a great battle."

What?

"Well said."

The heiress spun at the words spoken by the Champion whose approach had been missed as she came to the conclusion that _Ash didn't pity her_. She barely had time to register the words of praise _(praise, from the Champion!)_, before a flying hug from Pearl knocked her over, filling her ears with familiar ramblings, the misery of her first defeat fading as the truth settled in. _No one was disappointed in her!_

"That was great! Yeah, next time you're gonna _win _this, I'll draw up a training schedule and me an' Dia can help you!"

Platina decided to ignore Pearl's murdering of grammatical components as she traded a fond glance with Dia, trying her best to communicate a promise in her smile. She will do better next time. The answering smile was like water to the heart.

"Where do you think you're going kid?" Platina shifted her attention back to Red, wondering when Ash had tried to leave the group as she noted the Kanto trainer freeze on his way back to the cottage, mirroring her confusion. Confusion that held a touch of pity, no one wanted the Champion looking at them with that predatory grin. It was the grin of which officials were traumatized by. All further thought was washed away by excitement with his next words,

"Now you've had your warm up, time for a one on one with me."

"Calm down Ash,"

There were times Ash wished he could dump all his emotions on the person saying that phrase and see if _they _could calm down so easily. As it was, he gave Crystal the barest turn of his head to show he had heard her words before returning his stare to the Champion across the field.

It was hard to turn his attention away from Red. Even from a distance, the Motou Champion had a _presence, _Ash had only seen in other Champions. It was an aura not even the Elite Four could match, that broadcast the strength of the trainer, as if the region itself had thrust all its power into one worthy human. This was what Ash was about to battle, this collection of strength and power.

He couldn't wait.

"Ready Pikachu?"

The grin had not left his face since Red had made his declaration.

James smiled at the passing trainers as he made himself comfortable against the tree outside the train station, trying to ignore the raised voices from the bushes behind him. As the 'debate' increased in volume, he wondered if there was a bored Pokèmon god that liked to follow his team around and laugh at the trouble they get into. As his teammates discussion grew louder, it took all his willpower to keep the easygoing grin on his face as he flashed a 'what can you do' smile at the passerby's, getting sympathetic grins in return while the conversation behind him degraded into a childish squabble,

"No Meowth."

"Yes

"No."

"_Yes"_

"_No means no and if you keep complaining we're going back to Kantou!"_

Two members of the famed Team Rocket, one of the most powerful Teams out there, personally trained by Giovanni they were trusted with missions of the highest secrecy short of Giovanni's personal assistant Arguing in a distant country they had snuck into like a pair of toddlers deciding a vacation spot. Sometimes he hated his life.

Eyeing a few trainers that were getting too curious he decided to end the discussion before they let too much information slip, "I agree with Jessie, we could probably meet up with him on the way to one of the gyms, after he's done with his new friends."

"But…"

"We are not going to crash on him just because he has some new friends."

They were not going to crash on the pipsqueak _because_ of his new friends. James was tired of getting free flights courtesy of Champion Airways; those always took the longest to land.

"Actually," James tried to squash his nerves as Jessie drawled out the word in a way that never meant well for them, "I was thinking, have you considered the Sailor Preserve?"

Red knew he had made the right decision as he faced Ash across the field, with his usual, cocksure grin, only to meet a matching grin on the teen's face. The boy was just like a younger version of himself, jumping at the slightest challenge with overwhelming enthusiasm, it was no wonder Lance…

Dragging his thoughts away from his ex-partner, Red focused on his current opponent, knowing without looking that Pika was ready on the battlefield. As his mind slid into battle mode, it noted that Ash and Pikachu had achieved the same level of communication, the other trainer had not even glanced at his partner, Red analyzed, the trust and understanding between the two was deep enough for wordless communication, something he had noticed during the fight with Platina, and now as the both of them geared up for battle, it would be put to the test.

He missed Crystal's words, zoning out the usual pre-match announcement as he continued to analyze what Ash had shown in the brief match against Platina. Pity it ended too soon, but that meant the boy wouldn't hold back, even against a rookie. The challenge now was to see if having a Champion as an opponent would affect his battle style. His musing was cut short as Crystal lowered her arm, only for Ash to beat him to the punch.

"Pikachu, Swift!"

"Dodge it Pika!"

Shelving the _tiny_strain of admiration at the other trainers' quick action for later, Red began his attack, determined not to let Ash get control of the flow of battle this early in the game. He had a reputation to protect after all, and Green will never let him live it down if he let the teen take the advantage so easily. "Iron Tail!" He was already moving across the plain as Pika's Iron Tail sent the other Pokèmon flying away from the battle. Knowing he didn't have much time, he slowed enough for Pika to clamber onto his shoulder before giving a burst of speed, not giving Ash time to register that the battlefield had moved he ordered Pika "Tackle! Then follow up with Quick Attack!"

"Pikachu!"

Experience allowed Red to ignore his opponents scream as Pikachu was tackled in the stomach, but did nothing to conceal his shock as Ash's next command of, "Counter Shield!".

As he regained his equilibrium, Red made two mental notes to himself. Firstly, the kid got his act together faster then most trainers not used to a moving battlefield. Secondly, he added as the opponent Pikachu spun on its back, shooting out electric charges that formed a shield expanding outwards, watch out for hidden aces.

Ash knew that he didn't have much time to capitalize on his brief advantage. Pika was an electric type, the shield would shock and push back the off balanced Pokèmon, but without causing any damage. It wouldn't take long for the experienced mouse type and his trainer to shake off shock shock, and they will realize that Pika could force his way through Counter Shield if Ash didn't act fast.

Meeting Pikachu's eyes even as he raced across the field, he was once again grateful for his bond with his oldest friend as Pikachu read his next command in his gaze, and not a moment too soon.

"Pika, stand your ground and use Tackle!"

Breathing a sigh of relief as he reached the battleground, Ash watched the older Pokèmon force his way through Counter Shield, only to tackle an illusion as Pikachu used Double Team, buying the younger trainer time to think. Memories and experience were Ash's aid as he remembered a move Dawn had shown Zoe during her losing streak in the early days of her journey.

"Pikachu, Swift again, contest style!"

"Oh you didn't!"

Red's exclamation caused Ash to grin in triumph as both trainer and Champion watched Pikachu spin around, the Swift stars forming a curtain that hid the Pokèmon from sight, Dawn's weakness was now Ash's gain.

Sending a mental thanks to the blue haired trainer, Ash pushed his momentary advantage,

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Pika, dodge it!"

Both cursing and admiring how quickly Red recovered from shock (most opponents would stalled long enough for Ash to gain an actual advantage), Ash strained his eyes to see past the Swift still on field, only to see Pika avoid Pikachu's latest attack, neatly dodging the fading stars and even using them as platforms to negate what remained of the challenging duo's advantage.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the Swift!"

_He's good._

Arriving at the scene of battle before the others, Green could only watch in admiration as the Kanto trainers Pikachu used Iron Tail to hit the fading stars at Pika, mentally taking notes on the techniques he could use for future battles.

_He's not used to a moving battlefield, but he knows how to create one to his advantage._

As Pika dodged again, and spun to strike back one of the stars at the unsuspecting challenger, knocking Pikachu over with the younger Pokèmon's own attack, Green kept up his analyses of the 'new' trainer.

_His reaction time is not as good as Red's, or even mine, but it is on par with Blue's. He's creative and has a good head for tactics, not quite at Red's level yet, but getting there. He's still a match for most of the gym leaders, and maybe even Blue, Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald. He could definitely take Crystal in a fair fight once he learns the style. Adaptive too._

Green added the last thought as he watched Pikachu finally score solid hit on Pika using a complicated mix of Double Team and running around the trainers legs, timing it so that Ash moved away just before the tackle hit Pika dead on.

Wincing as Red's grin reached maniac proportions, Green wondered when was the last time his rival had met such a challenge outside of their little group and selected gym leaders. To be fair, Ash was proving to be a par above the normal challenger. If a par meant the distance between earth and heaven. Belatedly, Green remembered that the boy was a Champion in his own right, no matter how small the Orange Isle were compared to the rest of the regions. It was just so easy to forget considering how the boy acted, but his skills were proving true.

That thought was validated as Green watched, eyes widening in shock to see Ash's Pikachu dodge another attack _coming from the back._

If Crystal and Blue had not pounded the habit of cursing during battles out of him, Red would have shriveled the surrounding flora with his words as Pikachu dodged another one of Pika's attacks, _with his eyes closed!_

Even worse, there had been almost no communication between Pokèmon and trainer before the younger Pokèmon seemed to grow eyes on the back of his head, not since Ash's cryptic command of 'Wave training.'

After that, Pikachu, who had been struggling to dodge the faster Pika's attacks, had closed his eyes and started _swaying_ away from the swift attacks with hardly any effort. This didn't bode well for Red. If it kept up, Pikachu would be able to regain some strength from the damage Pika had already dealt him, while Pika wasted _his_ strength and energy in the meantime.

It was time to bring out the big guns.

"Pika, Thunder and Return!"

It was worth the risk to see the confusion on Ash's face as Pika released a Thunder which tore the ground and, most importantly, stopped Pikachu for the few precious seconds for Pika's Return to hit. The powerful attack knocked out the other Pokèmon even as Red relished the victory, hearing Crystal call the match,

"Pikachu is unable to battle, the winner is Red and Pika!"

"That was amazing!"

"You were awesome!"

"So were you, when you did that thing with…"

"But then you…"

Crystal ignored the two Pikachu trainers gushing as she focused her attention on Platina, worried about the girls morale after the loss to Ash. The researcher was grateful for the battle between Ash and Red, if only to show the young heiress what level the visitor was from and that there was no shame in losing to someone who could give a champion a run for his money. She was happy to note that Platina had not let her defeat dampen her spirits; in part due to the grace Ash had handled his victory over the rookie trainer. In fact, it seemed that the battle had lit a fire in the girl.

"Our first destination will be Igo City. If we cut through Atari Forest, the closest gym will be the Igo City gym…"

"Did someone say gym?"

Suppressing a scream as Ash seemed to teleport over two the two females in the group, Crystal tried to ignore the feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach as the Kanto trainer continued,

"You're going to battle the gym leaders? Can I come along? I want to try and enter the league here."

She hated it when her instincts were right. Wondering how to get out of this without angering her visitor, Crystal approached the topic gently, "Ash, I don't think it is wise…"

Only to be cut off by a familiar voice, "What Cryst is trying ta' say is that ya overqualified ta enter da league kiddo."

"Sapphire!"

TBC

A/N: And yes, here comes Sapphire. So can anyone guess who the gym leaders are? Hehehe


End file.
